March Madness 2023: 5 upsets brewing for the Second Round

March Madness Second Round upset picks

Auburn over Houston

The fact that Houston had a tough time getting past No. 16 seed Northern Kentucky on Thursday night is only part of the reason an upset is in play in this game. The bigger concern for the Cougars is the status of guard Marcus Sasser, who aggravated a groin injury in the win over the Norse.

Sasser didn’t look like himself when he was on the floor and was pulled at halftime by head coach Kelvin Sampson. The rest of the Cougars did enough to get past Northern Kentucky but if Sasser is unable to suit up against Auburn things could get dicey.

The Tigers looked very impressive in their win over Iowa, notably going on a 13-2 run in the second half to build a 17-point cushion over the Hawkeyes they never relinquished. While it is true that Houston is a far better defensive team than Iowa, they haven’t looked as dominant in games where they didn’t have Sasser.

The other edge that Auburn has is the fact that this game is in Birmingham, a mere two hours from campus. Having a wounded 1-seed playing what could be a true road game is a problem and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see a top dog go down in the Round of 32.