WATCH: Houston guard Marcus Sasser goes down with non-contact injury in AAC semifinal
Houston guard Marcus Sasser suffered a strange non-contact injury while dribbling the ball during the AAC tournament semifinals. The fourth-year star guard went to make a cut on the court and appeared to slip on a wet spot — immediately falling to the ground in pain.
Shortly afterwards it was reported that Sasser was being treated in the locker room with a groin injury that left him as questionable to return to the game.
Marcus Sasser goes down with groin injury
Sasser has been a huge part of Houston’s success this season, averaging 17.1 points and 3.3 assists per game for the Cougars. If the injury to Sasser proves to be anything long-term or something that lingers throughout March, their status as a favorite in the upcoming NCAA Tournament could be in jeopardy.
The Cougars appeared to handling business as usual against Cincinnati, but the immediate injury scare of seeing Sasser go down on the court left fans hoping the team would shut him down for Saturday’s game. The team appeared to not be taking any chances by ruling him out — especially with a 38-23 lead at halftime — but the question was left about how long the injury would affect Sasser.
According to the latest round of bracket predictions, Houston is scheduled to be a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament tipping off its first round on Mar. 16. While the Cougars will be a top seed with or without Sasser, having him healthy for a tournament run is the main hope for fans while the AAC Tournament wraps up.
The Cougars finished the job on Saturday with a 69-48 win over the Bearcats and secured a spot in the AAC Championship Game tomorrow. After the game, Houston did not reveal the exact status of Sasser for the title game — although they did indicate that they were leaning towards resting their star guard for the NCAA Tournament.