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Texas Tech loses starting big man Odiase for up to 6 weeks

Lester Medford, Rico Gathers, Norense Odiase

Baylor forward Rico Gathers, far left, and Baylor guard Lester Medford, center left, struggle with Texas Tech center Norense Odiase for possession in the first period during an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Lubbock, Texas. (Mark Rogers/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

AP

Texas Tech took a huge blow to its interior depth this week as head coach Tubby Smith confirmed on his radio show that starting big man Norense Odiase is expected to miss the next six weeks with a broken bone in his foot.

The 6-foot-9 Odiase broke his fourth metatarsal in a win over TCU this week and he is expected to spend the next three weeks in a cast before being reevaluated. Starting in all 17 games for the Red Raiders this season, Odiase averaged 9 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest in 19.5 minutes per game. Although he doesn’t put up huge numbers, Odiase has been a steady interior presence for a Texas Tech team that doesn’t have much depth up front.

Without Odiase in the lineup, head coach Tubby Smith will likely rely on reserves like junior forward Matt Temple or other options that have seen more regular rotation minutes like sophomore forward Zach Smith and junior forward Aaron Ross.

Texas Tech sits at 12-5 and is hoping for some upsets in Big 12 play to spring an NCAA tournament bid, this is not a good sign of the Red Raiders making that postseason run happen.