The Houston basketball program canceled its scheduled media availability hours before it happened, according to a Monday article from ABC13 Eyewitness News. The availability could have provided valuable insight into how they are handling the adversity of being without senior guard Marcus Sasser, who suffered a lower-body injury in the American Athletic Conference championship semifinals against the Cincinnati Bearcats, continued ABC13.

The Memphis Tigers earned a 75-65 victory over Houston in the AAC basketball championship tournament, allowing head coach Penny Hardaway to leave Sunday as a champion. Senior guard Kendric Davis led the charge with 31 points in 38 minutes played, allowing Memphis to knock off the top-rated team in the nation by the Associated Press to take the first AAC championship tournament win in school history.

A former 3-star recruit out of Red Oak, Texas, Marcus Sasser has played a critical scoring role for the Cougars since he first enrolled with the Houston basketball program in 2019. He has averaged double-digit points per game for the Cougars since his sophomore year, peaking at 17.7 points per game on a 43.7% field goal percentage during the 2021-22 season.

Houston took a No. 1 seed as the official March Madness brackets were released on Selection Sunday. The Cougars dominated their regular-season schedule with Sasser at the helm, taking home a 31-3 overall record with a 17-1 record against conference opponents. The team was undefeated in its road games, highlighted by a 67-65 win over the Tigers in its regular-season finale in early March.

Sasser scored 13 points in the closely-contested contest, which saw junior guard Jamal Shead hit the final shot with one second remaining after senior guard Kendric Davis tied things up with nine seconds remaining.

“I knew coach (Kelvin Sampson) wouldn't call time out because we've been in that situation before and he trusts me,” Shead said, via ESPN. “God willing, I was able to make that shot.”