No. 1 Houston Cougars pull away from East Carolina to tip off their AAC tournament

Houston will face the winner of Cincinnati-Temple in Saturday's AAC semifinals.
Friday, March 10, 2023
FORT WORTH, Texas (KTRK) -- The top-ranked Houston Cougars men's basketball program is most assured a No. 1 seed during the March Madness tournament regardless of whether they go wire-to-wire in the American Athletic Conference tournament.

But they'll definitely take clinching an automatic bid at the expense of their soon-to-be former conference mates.

The video above is the ABC13 Houston's 24/7 Streaming Channel.
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Marcus Sasser scored a game-high 30 points to help UH (30-2) pull away from the team's opening matchup with East Carolina, 60-46, in the AAC tourney quarterfinals on Friday. Two of those points came on a heads-up break away slam when Sasser went unopposed for a dunk.

The victory marks the program's 30th win of the season, which gives Houston back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time since the Phi Slama Jama era.

Houston guard Marcus Sasser (0) blocks a shot by East Carolina guard RJ Felton (3) during the the American Athletic Conference Tournament, March 10, 2023, in Fort Worth, Texas.

AP Photo/Ron Jenkins



Jamal Shead added 12 points for the Coogs, while J'Wan Roberts went scoreless but proved to be a beast on the boards with 12 rebounds.



Houston was actually up by just two points at halftime before Sasser's scoring onslaught in the second half.
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The Coogs also improved to 14-0 this season in games played away from Fertitta Center. Houston actually claimed a victory on the same floor earlier in the season in a neutral court game vs. St. Mary's back in December.

What's next for UH? The Coogs are scheduled to play their semifinal game on Saturday at 2 p.m. against Cincinnati.

That game will be broadcast on ABC13 sister network ESPN2.
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