Houston basketball's Marcus Sasser will be a game-time decision for Thursday's NCAA Tournament game against Northern Kentucky due to a groin injury, according to Jon Rothstein.
Marcus Sasser left Saturday's AAC semifinal game against Cincinnati with about seven minutes left in the first half. Kelvin Sampson immediately went out to help him up. The Houston basketball team went on to win that game 69-48 to advance to the championship game. Sasser sat out Sunday's championship game against Memphis.
Memphis defeated Houston by the score of 75-65 to win the AAC tournament.
Kelvin Sampson's team still secured a number one seed in the tournament and should feel good about their chances against Northern Kentucky despite the injury to Sasser. Houston finished the season 31-3, with the only losses coming to number one overall seed Alabama, Temple and Memphis.
However, Sasser is arguably the most important player on the team. He is the team's leading scorer with 17.1 points per game, according to sports reference. There are three more double-digit scorers on the team in Jarace Walker, J'Wan Roberts and Jamal Shead.
Houston could get by Northern Kentucky in the first round, but if it wants to make a deep run in the tournament, Sasser needs to make a return. If he does not, Jarace Walker, J'Wan Roberts and Jamal Shead will need to do a lot more heavy lifting than they are used to.
Houston would take on either Iowa or Auburn in the second round if it advances past Northern Kentucky. Sasser's status is something to monitor for Thursday.
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