The Houston Cougars may not have their best player for the rest of their first-round game in the NCAA tournament against the Northern Kentucky Norse, with Houston basketball star Marcus Sasser questionable to return to the contest due to a seeming re-aggravation of a lower-body injury.

Marcus Sasser's status for Houston basketball's matchup against Northern Kentucky was among the major talking points leading into March Madness. He would eventually find his way into the Cougars' starting lineup for the meeting with the Norse but his night might already be over.

Before leaving, Sasser scored five points on a 2-for-5 shooting from the field for Houston basketball while also grabbing a couple of rebounds and getting hit with a personal foul. He was seen icing his groin on the bench before the Cougars made an announcement about his status for the contest.

“Marcus Sasser's groin injury is clearly bothering him. He's on the bench with ice on it. My guess is he's done for the night. Groin injuries are very tricky. Very concerning for the Cougars,” said Seth Davis of CBS Sports.

The Norse are proving to be a handful for the No. 1 seed Houston basketball, with Northern Kentucky trailing the Cougars by only three points at the end of the first half.

Sasser injured his groin against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the American Athletic Conference tournament.

Sasser led Houston basketball in the regular season with 17.1 points per game to go with 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest.

A win in the first round by the Cougars will get them a place in the second round where the Auburn Tigers are waiting for the winner of this Houston-Northern Kentucky showdown.