Houston is one of four No. 1 seeds in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, however, the Cougars played a too-close-for-comfort game against 16-seed Northern Kentucky in the Midwest region. While they were able to pull away with a double-digit victory, they had to do so without one of the top players in the entire country.
After playing just 14 minutes in Thursday’s game against the Northern Kentucky Norse, Marcus Sasser reaggravated a groin injury that he suffered during last week’s American Athletic Conference tournament. Following a 63-52 win, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson told Tracy Wolfson of CBS Sports that Sasser’s injury was not the only one he was worried about. The team’s third-leading scorer, Jamal Shead, injured his knee in the win.
Kelvin Sampson telling me he’s concerned not only with Sasser’s groin but also Jamal Shead’s knee. #Houston
— Tracy Wolfson (@tracywolfson) March 17, 2023
While Houston and its fanbase took a collective deep breath, they received a boost on Friday.
According to Mark Berman, the Sports Director at Fox 26 Houston (KRIV), both Sasser and Shead said that they will be playing tomorrow night against Auburn and are 100% healthy. Sasser reportedly told Berman that he can’t worry about his groin injury when he’s playing. Because if he favors it, that can cause a problem for both he and the Cougars, who will need a healthy Sasser to knock off Auburn on Saturday.
Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead both say they’re playing tomorrow night and are 100%.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) March 17, 2023
We’ll have to see just how healthy Sasser and Shead are come Saturday, but Houston will need both of them at close to full strength if it wants to make a serious run in the tournament.
