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Sasser reinjured as top-seeded Houston beats Northern Kentucky

nqajqrqw7months ago (05-16)Basketball Hub149

BIRMINGHAM,Ala. (AP) — With All-American Marcus Sasser watching from thebench, top-seeded Houston shook off Northern Kentucky for a 63-52victory to open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

Chants of“NKU!” and “Overrated!” filled Legacy Arenaas the 16th-seededNorse trailed by only three at halftime and made it 36-all withunder 16 minutes to go against the Cougars (32-3).

But Houstonpulled awaybehind 16 points from Jarace Walker, advancing toface ninth-seeded Auburn on Saturday.

“I don’tcoach Northern Kentucky, but I was proud of their team tonight,”Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “They fought. Their kids aretough. They’re smart.”

Now, all eyesturn to Sasser, Houston’s top scorer and its first member of TheAssociated Press All-America first team since 1984.

After going down last weekend with agroin injuryin the American Athletic ConferenceTournament, Sasser was a game-time decision for the start of theNCAA Midwest Region.

He got thestart and looked just fine when he knocked down an early 3-pointer.But Sasser didn’t do much else, finishing with five points on2-of-5 shooting in just under 14 minutes of playing time.

When thesecond half began, Sasser wasn’t on the court. The school announcedhe had aggravated his groin problem, forcing him to watch the restof the game from the bench.

“He said itfelt funny,” Sampson said. “So he shut it down, which is the rightthing to do.”

Sampson alsorevealed that guard Jamal Shead is bothered by a sore knee, thoughthe managed to play more than 36 minutes. Shead chipped in with 13points and six assists.

“We’ve got tosee how many healthy bodies we have right now,” Sampson said.“That’s probably our most important thing.”

The Cougarsgot by without Sasser on this night.

The Norse’supset bid went down in a hail of clankers, the Horizon Leaguechampions shooting just 27.5% from the field (19 of 69) — includinga horrendous 5 of 34 from 3-point range — to ruin any chance ofbecoming the next UMBC.

TheRetrievers remain the only 16th seed in NCAA history to knock off aNo. 1 seed, shocking Virginia in 2018.

“I’munbelievably proud of our team, the fight that we showed,” coachDarrin Horn said. “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say we outplayedHouston tonight. We just didn’t make enough shots.”

Sam Vinsonled the Norse (22-13) with 15 points, though he made just 1 of 8from beyond the arc.

“It wasfrustrating a little bit, but we don’t think about that during thegame,” Vinson said. “The coaches keep saying, ‘Shoot the ball,shoot the ball.’”

The Cougarsavoided UMBC’s fate but things figure to get much tougher in thenext one, especially if Sasser can’t go.

Auburnknocked off No. 8 seed Iowa 83-75 and will have another de factohome game in the second round, playing just a two-hour drive fromits campus.

“Good forthem,” Sampson said. “It’s a great break.”

The Cougarsstruggled offensively against Northern Kentucky’s matchup zone,which was unlike any defense they had seen this season. Houston ledjust 30-27 at halftime and finished well under its 75-point averagecoming into the game.

Sampson andhis players also conceded to a lack of toughness.

“They weremore aggressive,” said J’Wan Roberts, who had 11 points and 12rebounds. “It felt like they wanted it more. We’ve got to learnfrom that and get better.”

BIGPICTURE

NorthernKentucky: The Norse have yet to win three NCAA Tournamentappearances, losing as a 14th, 15th and now 16th seed.

Houston: TheCougars hardly looked like a national championship contender, andSasser’s health makes a title run look even more tenuous.

UPNEXT

The Cougarswill be playing Auburn for the first time since Dec. 8, 1982, whenHouston’s “Phi Slama Jama” powerhouse featuring Hakeem Olajuwon andClyde Drexler prevailed 77-65 against the Charles Barkley-ledTigers. Overall, the teams have met just seven times, with theCougars winning six. Auburn’s lone victory in the series came in1962.

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