ANAHEIM, Calif. -- More than a month has passed since Norense Odiase received the awful news, and the Texas Tech senior is still coping with grief.
His cousins, Esosa Oyemwense and Osaretin Igbinedion, were killed in a car accident Feb. 15 in Lubbock and the world changed for the North Crowley graduate. The run to the NCAA Sweet 16 and a Thursday meeting with Michigan (30-6) in the West Region has become a refuge for Odiase.
"I think about it every day," Odiase said of the accident. "I'm not the same person at all. This is kind of the only thing I really care about, is this team and winning and getting forward.