Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Houston basketball is clearly one of the favorites to win the national championship. Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars swept the regular season and conference tournament titles in the Big 12 and earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region.
However, an ankle injury to star big man J’Wan Roberts has been hanging over Houston during the lead-in to the tournament. On Wednesday, Sampson put all of those concerns to bed, clearing Roberts to play on Thursday in the Round of 64 against SIU Edwardsville, per college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.
“Houston’s J’Wan Roberts (ankle) is expected to be available for the Cougars’ NCAA Tournament game against SIU Edwardsville on Thursday, per Kelvin Sampson,” Rothstein reported on X, formerly Twitter.
Roberts should be able to work his way back into game shape during that first game, as Houston should have no trouble shutting down SIUE whether he is at full strength or not. However, a potential tricky round two matchup with Gonzaga would be a big test, and the Cougars will need Roberts to be at full strength to knock off Mark Few and the Bulldogs.
While Houston definitely wants Roberts to be fully healthy and ready to go, the Cougars have proven that they can win even if he is limited or sidelined. Houston won its last two games of the Big 12 Tournament — against BYU in the semifinals and Arizona in the title game — without Roberts, which should give the team confidence going into the Big Dance.
Houston is paired up with Tennessee, Kentucky and Purdue as its top seeds, so there could be some big challenges awaiting it during the second weekend if Sampson and company can get that far. However, Houston comes into this tournament as one of the hottest teams in college basketball, and getting Roberts back in the flow will only help it build momentum during each game.
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