Sasser on final home game in UH uniform: 'Just all the love in Houston'

Mere days after the top-ranked University of Houston (UH) Cougars men’s basketball team secured outright possession of its fourth American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season title in half a decade, the Kelvin Sampson-led program gave seniors Marcus Sasser, Reggie Chaney and Darius Bowser a nice send-off on Thursday by defeating the Wichita State Shockers at home 83-66.

On the night he, Chaney and Bowser were honored before they depart the Third Ward for good, floor general Sasser racked up 22 points to complement junior Jamal Shead, his backcourt partner, who finished the contest with a career-high 25 points, per a report on the team’s website. 

At the conclusion of the game, Fertitta Center broke out in “Sasser!” chants, according to the report. 

"Just all the love in Houston," Sasser, who withdrew his name from last year’s National Basketball Association (NBA) Draft to suit up for his final season with the Cougars, said in the report. "They've been giving me love since I was a freshman, and they are still doing it to this day. I just can't thank the Houston community enough."

Sampson admitted his men didn’t have an ideal start against the Shockers but praised the team for getting it together in time to thump the visitors.

"The guys didn't have the right mindset to start the game where Wichita State did," the ninth-year coach said in the report. "They came out here to play, our guys came out here for a memorial service … Once we got rolling in the second half, we were good."

According to UH, the win pushes the Cougars’ winning streak to 10.

To commemorate their latest AAC crown, the program performed the traditional cutting down of the nets.

Sampson said there’s more to do, especially with the 2023 National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four being played at nearby NRG Stadium next month.

"[First], we want to win the conference, and number two, we want to make the NCAA Tournament,” he said in the report. “Those are our two major goals. I don't take those things for granted."

UH wraps up its 2022 campaign with a road game against the University of Memphis on Sunday.