Houston digs deep to avoid Northern Kentucky upset in Round of 64

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With All-American Marcus Sasser watching from the bench, top-seeded Houston shook off Northern Kentucky for a 63-52 victory to open the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.

Chants of "NKU!" and "Overrated!" filled Legacy Arena as the 16th-seeded Norse trailed by only three at halftime and made it 36-all with under 16 minutes to go against the Cougars (32-3).

But Houston pulled away behind 16 points from Jarace Walker, advancing to face ninth-seeded Auburn on Saturday.

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Houston guard Marcus Sasser brings the ball up duirng the first half of the team's first-round college basketball game against Northern Kentucky in the men's NCAA Tournament in Birmingham, Ala., Thursday, March 16, 2023.  (AP Photo/Butch Dill)

Now, all eyes turn to Sasser, the team's top scorer and its first member of The Associated Press All-America first team since 1984.

After going down last weekend with a groin injury in the American Athletic Conference Tournament, Sasser was a game-time decision for the start of the NCAA Midwest Region.

He got the start and looked just fine when he knocked down an early 3-pointer. But Sasser didn't do much else, finishing with five points on 2-of-5 shooting in just under 14 minutes of playing time.

When the second half began, Sasser wasn't on the court. The school announced he had aggravated his groin problem, forcing him to watch the rest of the game from the bench.

Houston guard Tramon Mark (12) grabs rebound away from Northern Kentucky guard Sam Vinson (2) during the second half of a first-round college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament in Birmingham, Ala.,