Erin Cannelli Cresta

You’re never out until you’re out. Play the game in front of you. Not the game you wanted to happen. Not the game that just happened. Not the game you hoped would happen. But the game that is happening. It's a remarkable lesson for basketball, for all of sport, and really, for all of life. In the Elite 8 of the NCAA tournament, the UConn Huskies came out flat against the No. 1 seed Duke. The Huskies trailed by 15 at halftime. No. 1 seeds were 134-0 all time in the NCAA tournament when leading by 15 or more points at halftime. That’s across the entire NCAA tournament history. Every round. Every year. UConn had every reason to give up. But they simply refused. Most people check out when the odds turn against them. But UConn never stopped playing to win. Their big man Tarris Reed Jr. put the Huskies on his back. He played incredibly on both sides of the ball. The Huskies cut the lead to 13. Then to 11. Then to 7. Then to 5. And then, in the final seconds of the game, they cut the lead to two. Duke inbounded the ball, UConn pressured and forced a turnover. With less than a second on the clock, Braylon Mullins—who had shot 0 for 4 from three—put up a deep 3 from the logo, and nailed it. UConn 73. Duke 72. 134-1. After the game, UConn coach Dan Hurley said this about Mullins: "The courage. You have a young man, he's a rare human being. The toughness about him, to take the shot, on a tough shooting night, but he was due." It was an off night. And yet with everything on the line you have no choice but to pull the trigger. Shooters shoot. That's confidence in the process. March Madness is an ultimate test of emotional regulation. Over 3 weeks and 6 games, nothing ever goes to plan. You prepare. You practice. You visualize. Then stuff happens. The difference between those who collapse and those who rise? How they respond, especially when things don’t go their way. What's true in basketball is true in life. It's easy when everything is going your way. But things will go wrong. You'll fall behind. The score won't look good. Most people check out when the odds turn against them. UConn never stopped playing their hardest. Not when they were down 19. Not when they were 1 for 11 from three. Not when history said it was over. It’s called having a next play mentality: You can't control what already happened. You can't control the score. You can only control the next play. One stop. One bucket. One possession at a time. That's how you erase a historical deficit against the No. 1 team in the country. It's how you work through the biggest challenges in life too. Excellence does not mean control. It does not mean perfection. It means refusing to quit on yourself when the situation looks hopeless. It means trusting your preparation even when nothing is falling. It means playing the game in front of you. Not the game you wanted. Not the game you hoped for. The game that is happening. Stay in the arena. Play the next play.