The Houston Cougars fell short on Sunday in the AAC Conference Championship game to the Memphis Tigers. However, they received some huge news regarding star guard Marcus Sasser ahead of the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Sasser missed Sunday’s game with a groin injury, which was clearly evident and a huge factor in the loss to Memphis. They had previously beaten the Tigers in both of their matchups earlier in the season.
They cannot afford to have Sasser miss the NCAA Tournament if they want to make a deep run. Luckily for them, it appears he will be good to go for their first-round matchup on Thursday.
Sasser spoke with the media after their loss on Sunday, revealing that he “should be 100 percent” for the team’s opening game against Northern Kentucky.
“I’ll probably say I should be 100% by Thursday,” said Sasser in a video shared on Twitter by Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston.
Marcus Sasser: “I’ll probably say I should be 100% by Thursday.” pic.twitter.com/wbKaVY8eZX
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) March 12, 2023
This is undoubtedly massive for their chances of potentially winning a National Championship in April. His impact can not be understated, leading the team in points and being a true leader in his Senior season.
Houston surprisingly received the second overall one seed for the tournament in the Midwest Region, which some were surprised didn’t go to the Kansas Jayhawks.
When asked about this decision, the chairman of the selection committee Chris Reynolds said that the reasoning for this was in large part due to Sasser’s injury that held him out on Sunday against Memphis leading to the loss.
Chris Reynolds, the selection committee chairman, says Houston was ranked ahead of Kansas because they were competitive in all their losses, except for today, which came without "their best player", Marcus Sasser
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) March 12, 2023
Sasser’s return certainly makes the Houston Cougars an extremely dangerous team that could be a true contender to cut down the nets this postseason.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.