When Marcus Sasser felt the occasional twinge in his groin, he simply blocked it. With so much on the line, he’s determined to stay on the court for top-seeded Houston.
Now, he has a few more days to heal before the Sweet 16.
Tramon Mark scored a career-best 26 points and Sasser added 22 – including five 3-pointers – as the Cougars held off local favorite Auburn in the second half for an 81-64 win in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in night
The Cougars (33-3) erased a 10-point halftime deficit, returning after the break with a chip on their shoulders.
‘We came out of the fire,’ said Mark. ‘Everything clicked for us in the second half.’
Got No. 1 seed Houston took action late in their game against 9-seed Auburn to advance
Important to close the lane, Houston played with the desperation of a national championship contender unwilling to suffer the same fate as Purdue and Kansas – No. 1 sent home.
Houston advances to face either No. 4 Indiana or No. 5 Miami, which plays Sunday, in the Sweet 16 in Kansas City, Missouri.
All eyes were on Sasser at the start of the game as he continued to deal with a groin injury that forced him to sit out the second half of Houston’s NCAA opener. But the All-American was determined to go all the way in this one.
The only thing that sent him to the bank was foul trouble, not the groin.
‘I probably felt it a few times,’ said Sasser, who played about 31 minutes. ‘But it’s pain I can get through and keep pushing.’
Now, Houston doesn’t play again until Friday. More time for Sasser to feel better.
‘I don’t know about removing it,’ he said. ‘But I have a feeling it will be better.’
The ninth-seeded Tigers (21-13) went more than 10 1/2 minutes without a field goal and finished just 4 of 24 from the field in the second half.
Houston’s defense eventually got it, shutting down Auburn late in the contest
Auburn committed plenty of fouls, but struggled mightily at the line with a 19-of-36 showing. Jaylin Williams and Johni Broome led the Tigers with 14 points each.
‘Hopefully it’s a 20-minute game instead of a 40-minute game,’ Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. ‘They came out and watched us tighter, better. And we didn’t respond to it.’
When Sasser drained a 3-pointer to put Houston back in front, 46-45, he let out a loud scream back on the court. He finished 5 of 9 beyond the arc.
His only issue is fouls. The All-American guard and his running mate, point guard Jamal Shead, were both forced to sit on the bench with four fouls each with the game still in doubt.
But Mark kept the Cougars rolling, and the big men refused to put Auburn back in the game.
Houston had 12 blocks, half of them by Jarace Walker, with five more shots turned away by J’Wan Roberts.
Happiness for Houston means heartbreak for Auburn as the Cougars move on to the Sweet 16
‘I think the biggest adjustment is in our attitude,’ said coach Kelvin Sampson. ‘I was almost glad it was Auburn’s first possession (of the second half), because I thought we had to set the tone with a stop.’
It ended a full half.
Houston scored the final nine points to break it open at the end, with Sasser hitting another 3-pointer that sent Auburn fans – and there were a lot of them – to the exits.
A big change from the first half.
Auburn closed on a 17-4 run as Houston missed six of its last eight shots, its only baskets coming on a pair of layups.
