Houston basketball star Jamal Shehead injured his ankle in the first half of the Sweet 16 game against Duke University.
To make matters worse, the Blue Devils defeated Houston 54-51 to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time under second-year head coach John Scheyer.
Shihed, the consensus All-American honoree for his play in the 2023-24 season, had his right leg bent in an awkward direction while driving to the rim with just over six minutes left in the first half.
Shead covered his face with his jersey as he struggled on the court.
He slowly walked towards the locker room to be quickly evaluated.
The team said the ankle injury was not a fracture, but a severe sprain, and had the Cougars won on Friday, Shihed would likely miss the remainder of the tournament. It shows.
At the time of Shihead’s injury, Houston was leading Duke 16-10.
Shihed had just two points on the night in 13 minutes of play, but he had two steals and dished out three assists.
Before tonight, the 6-foot-1 senior guard was averaging 13.2 points, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game this season.
He also won countless awards for his play with the top-seeded Cougars, including Big 12 Player of the Year and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
After the game, Duke players went to see Shihed, who was sitting on the bench, and gave him a high-five as a sign of respect.
