A tough holiday stretch for Houston basketball continued when Marcus Sasser, who leads the Cougars with 17.7 points per game, announced on Instagram on Friday that he is done for the season.
Sasser had been hindered by a toe injury. He missed a Dec. 14 matchup against Louisiana but managed 31 minutes and 36 minutes in back-to-back wins over Oklahoma State on Dec. 18 and Texas State on Dec. 22.
Sasser’s announcement came just days after the school announced Tramon Mark (10.1 PPG) would miss the rest of the season following shoulder surgery. Mark and Sasser were key contributors during Houston’s Final Four run last season.
No. 13 Houston entered the season as the preseason pick to win the American Athletic Conference championship.
The resume of Kelvin Sampson’s squad has just two blemishes thus far: a two-point neutral-site loss to Wisconsin on Nov. 23 and a one-point loss at Alabama on Dec. 11.
But losing Sasser is a devastating development for an already short-handed squad.
With Sasser on the court this season, Houston averaged 116 points per 100 possessions and made 41.4% of its 3-point attempts, according to hooplens.com. Those numbers were reduced to 105 points per 100 possessions and a 27.1% clip from beyond the arc this season when he has been sidelined.
Houston will host Cincinnati on Tuesday in its American season opener.