UH's top player is close to full strength, but the Hurricanes' situation is less certain.
Marcus Sasser #0 and Jamal Shead #1 of the Houston Cougars talk on the court during the first half against the Auburn Tigers in the second round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on March 18, 2023 in Birmingham, Alabama.
Alex Slitz/Getty ImagesKANSAS CITY — The University of Houston and Miami each head into Friday’s Sweet 16 showdown with good reason for optimism. Though as the teams prepare to square-off in Kansas City for round three of the NCAA tournament, one fan base may be feeling a bit more confident on the injury front.
Both Houston and Miami have been forced to deal with ailments impacting key players during the Big Dance. UH senior guard Marcus Sasser missed the second half of the Cougars' tournament opener against Northern Kentucky after sitting out the AAC championship game with a groin injury, but his performance in UH's Round of 32 win over Auburn—during which he poured in five threes on his way to a 22-point outing—helped alleviate concerns. Sasser provided an injury update this week, noting he expects to be close to 90 percent against Miami. The six-day break since UH's last game has only improved his outlook for this weekend’s Midwest Regional.
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Miami might be a different story, though the Hurricanes also received a positive injury update with regards to starting guard Wooga Poplar, who has been dealing with a back issue since his team's win over Indiana on Sunday. His status appears less certain than that of Sasser, but it's worth noting that Poplar returned to practice on Thursday. Miami coach Jim Larranaga said Poplar will start against UH "if he feels okay [Friday]," according to CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein. Poplar is averaging 8.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season.
UH starting point guard Jamal Shead has also been playing through a knee issue at the NCAA tournament: The team's associate AD for sports medicine John Houston revealed that Shead is primarily dealing with patellar tendinitis. However, Houston explained tendinitis is fairly common at this point in the season, and Shead has still been able to average 35 minutes per game through the first two rounds of the tournament, so there shouldn't be any real concern about his availability for Friday.
Tipoff for Houston's matchup with Miami is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. central at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
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Houston vs Miami injury updates: Marcus Sasser, Wooga Poplar - Chron
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