I have been watching several games per day since “March Madness” started. (That’s, of course, only on the days they are playing). I am depressed that individuals and teams respond so poorly when the game is on the line. So many games have come down to the final seconds and too many times the loser failed to take advantage of the opportunity available.

Our best efforts don’t always turn out. Players win the game or they lose the the game. Clearly, the team will get all the wisdom the coach has and then some, given the timeouts available. What bothers me is, I see the same faulty behavior over and over with no positive results.

Here is an example … Gonzaga University vs. Syracuse University. With a time running out, Gonzaga has a nice little lead. Syracuse is desperate, so they have to cause something to happen. Gonzaga cooperates nicely by dribbling into the corner where they are double-teamed and lose possession. Three times this happened. Not wanting to get any blame for the comeback, the officials swallowed the whistle. I promise you that in at least one if not all of those situations the player with the ball was fouled. But, why go there anyway?

So, in that case, the offensive team failed, the officials failed and the winner did so by default. What might have happened if all parties had taken effective action? In the same game, Gonzaga’s big center, Sabonis, was double and triple-teamed most of the time he got the ball. Good strategy, but again, he had to be fouled some of the time and he rarely got the call.

Championship play is different than regular season play. I know, it is the same game. The fact is, we make it that way and it doesn’t change anything. The tendency is to get more conservative. Coaches substitute less, i.e., play less people. Suddenly the eighth and ninth guy isn’t as talented as he was in the regular season.

Championship play calls for our best. Relax. Play full out. You can’t avoid being yourself and win. In fact, we almost  ensure a loss by doing just that. I have said before the tournament began that any one of 10 teams could win it. What I needed to add is that the team who is most themselves throughout will win.

And, don’t forget ..

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