March 31, 2026
by Stephen T. Messenger
The 2026 NCAA March Madness tournament has narrowed from the 68 teams that started to the Final Four. It has been amazing to watch, knowing that any team, on any given day, can win one of these games. Life is a lot like that. Sometimes we just have to put ourselves out there and try things in which we may not succeed.
I have this narrative that I am perfectly average. I’m average height, build, and intelligence. These traits have made me an underdog my whole life. But my redeeming quality is that I’m incredibly hardworking. This skill has transcends any genetics of being average.
The underdogs know this, and it’s amazing watching a lower-seeded team upset a heavyweight, much like No. 3 Illinois’ stunning 65–55 takedown of No. 2 Houston. The beauty of this tournament, and life, is that any team can win, as it’s all settled on the court.
Too often, we sit on the sidelines because we don’t think we can win. But any time we get a chance to play, we have a shot. As Kentucky’s Otega Oweh put it after an insane buzzer-beater to tie in the last second: “It’s March. I feel like that’s just what happens. It’s crazy. I just tried to get the shot up.”
It’s a great lesson to always “get the shot up,” reminiscent of Wayne Gretzky’s classic, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Watching the tournament this year presents three ideals to convince us to get on the court: anyone has a chance to win as long as we are in the game, don’t leave anything in reserve, and focus on the here and now.
That’s Why We Play the Game
Life is intimidating. There are so many things out there that persuade us to stay in bed and turn off the alarm. Marcus Aurelius famously stated that when we want to huddle under the covers, we should instead get up and do the things that we were born to do.
Many NCAA basketball coaches understand the great divide between elite and low-seeded teams. But the court remains the great equalizer. After the first round, the AP framed it as, “All it takes is one thunderclap moment by an underdog for the chalk to be washed away.” The “chalk” is the team that’s expected to win. Underdogs seeded 12, 11, 10, and 9 all made it through the first round. Teams 11, 9, and 6 made it to the Sweet Sixteen. And No. 9 Iowa and No. 6 Tennessee were in the Elite Eight. Amazing!
I remember competing in the Master Tactician Competition at Fort Leavenworth in 2014. I was a logistician competing in a tactician’s world, my own version of the NIL divide, but through dedicated study and just competing, I made it through the first three of four rounds and finished a formidable fifth overall.
Just like Marcus stated, the underdog teams and I could have stayed in bed, but they went for it. That’s something we all need to do.
Eliminate the Reserve Tank
It’s tempting to rest up and save our energy for the big moment. The problem is, we never know when that moment will be the “big one.” Sometimes, “saving yourself for later” is a form of arrogance. The tournament showed that even top seeds like Houston lost when they couldn’t find their rhythm until it was “too little, too late.”
Illinois coach Brad Underwood understands this well. He admits to a few games this season where “…we’ve gotten up early and let teams come back.” With the pressure of the Elite Eight, he understands the need to rely on the work already put in so we can all play our best on the court.
I can remember attempting to get into an impressive Army school. The testing and training were ridiculously hard to qualify for. And simply being accepted was subjecting yourself to even harder training and testing in the next round. But to get there, the candidates had to go all in during qualifying.
To get to the elite levels, we have to leave it all on the court. There’s no point looking back and asking, “What if?” Instead, whether we win or lose, it’s important to know we tried our hardest.
Focus on What Matters
I’m not a huge basketball fan, but one of my favorite moments is when fans try to distract free throw shooters from making the shot. There have been half-naked spectators, college frat boys pretending to give birth, and all sorts of shenanigans. But to be at our best, we have to block out the noise.
There are so many distractions in our lives. We have to focus on the high-percentage actions that drive results. The NCAA tournament would call these “points in the paint.” It’s about doing the high percentage activities to run up the score.
When Kentucky went down by a basket with seconds left, their coach Mark Pope said it best: “One of the things I was really proud of was there was no pause, throw your hands up, feel sorry for yourself reaction from our guys.” We have to focus on the task at hand. I can remember getting my next Army assignment, and my mindset shifting to that next job in six months. But there were still things that required my total focus in the here and now.
David Allen said, “You can do anything, but not everything.” For us, that means focusing on what really matters and blocking out the noise.
The Final Four
Every year, 68 teams start the tournament, and there’s only one winner. While that winner will most likely be a top-seeded team, it doesn’t mean the other teams should give up. Instead, it means that they should try even harder.
For us, we’re probably not top-seeded at whatever we’re trying to accomplish, but instead of discouraging us, it should encourage us. When we get on the court, give our all, and spend time and energy on the most important things, we have a much greater chance of coming in first. And while the scoreboard may not always favor the underdog, the person who leaves the court with an empty reserve tank never truly loses. The tournament ends, but the standard we set carries us into the next season.
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