(SportsRadio 610) - It’s an impressive accomplishment, but only a small step closer to what head coach Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars have their eyes set on.
Entering the 2022-2023 campaign, the Cougars (26-2, 14-1 American Athletic Conference) had won seven regular season conference titles.
With Wednesday night's 89-59 victory over the Tulane Green Wave, they managed to at least capture a share of a regular season conference title for the eighth time in the program's history and sixth under Sampson.
“Just the consistency of it is what I’m most proud of,” Sampson said.
Finding the way to be consistent, is always something a coach is striving for and Sampson has his team locked in as they embark on another date with the big tournament.
“I don’t worry about what our team looks like in November, that’s November basketball,” Sampson said. “I don’t worry about what our team looks like in December, that’s December basketball. January, February, March, that’s when you want to be playing your best.“
With just three regular season games remaining ahead of the conference tournament on the horizon, senior guard Marcus Sasser is looking forward to his team showing the rest of the country what his squad is capable of.
“You know, I still feel like we haven’t reached out ceiling so you know that’s always a positive heading into March,” Sasser said. “We want to be playing our best basketball heading into March, so you know, I feel like that’s the most exciting thing as the season continues.”
Sasser has taken his game to another level this season.
He’s hungry.
After not being able to play with his team in the NCAA tournament last season due to a foot injury that required surgery, Sasser can’t hide the eagerness he has to help his team make another deep run in the tournament this season.
The early morning workouts, the extra time he puts in after practice and the late nights in the gym have paid dividends since deciding to return for his senior season and his head coach has taken notice.
“To me, the player of the year in this league, has been Marcus Sasser,” Sampson said. “He’s the best player in this league. Don’t base it on stats. Marcus’ stats could be a lot better if he took a lot more shots. He impacts winning so many ways and that’s why I think the player of the year should be the best two-way player.
“Is Marcus the best offensive guard, maybe not, I don’t know. There’s some really good offensive guards in this league, talented kids. But, I don’t think there’s a better two-way player in this conference than Marcus Sasser.”
In the meantime, there’s no better team in the country than the No. 1 ranked Houston Cougars and soon enough, they’ll have the opportunity to put it to the test in March.
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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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