(SportsRadio 610) - The Cougars begin their road back to Houston for the Final Four Thursday, March 16 when they face Northern Kentucky (22-12) as the top seed within the Midwest region in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Houston ended the American Athletic Conference Tournament on a sour note with Sunday's 75-65 loss to the Memphis, which included the absence of standout senior guard Marcus Sasser, who injured his groin during Saturday's win over Cincinnati.
The Cougars (31-3) finished runners-up in the American Athletic Conference Championship for the second time in five seasons after winning it the previous two years.
Houston enters the big tournament as a No. 1 seed, joining Kansas, Purdue and Alabama as the top seeds in their respective brackets.
Alabama, which secured the No. 1 overall seed entering the tournament after topping Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament final 82-63, will open tournament play Wednesday and play the winner of the Texas A&M and Southeastern Missouri State play-in game.
Meanwhile, the Cougars hope to be back at full strength by Thursday when they take on Northern Kentucky as Sasser recovers.
Following Sunday's loss to Memphis, Sasser told reporters that he's confident he'll be ready to play by Thursday.
That's encouraging news from the AAC's Player of the Year. Sasser averaged 17.5 pointer per game this season while knocking down 39 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.
Sampson has prepared his team for this. They feel the regular season has offered similar challenges they'll soon face in the tournament.
Whether Sasser can get back to full strength to help complete the unfinished business he and his team have from last season's Elite Eight exit remains to be seen.
The chance to get back in position to win it all is the reason Sasser decided to return for his senior year in the first place.
The road begins Thursday.
Coming up:
Houston vs Northern Kentucky Thursday, March 15. Tip-off is currently TBD.
NOTES:
Thursday will mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Cougars would play the winner of the (8) Iowa and (9) Auburn winner in the second round.
Shaun Bijani has spent the last 16 years covering the Houston sports scene for SportsRadio 610. Follow him on Twitter @ShaunBijani.
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