March Sadness for Michigan State Spartans Marvin Clark Jr., Javon Bess, Gavin Schilling and Deyonta Davis during the final seconds of the 90-81 loss to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Friday, March 18, 2016 at Scottrade Center in St. Louis. (Photo by Kirthmon F. Dozier, DFP)
For Michigan State fans, March Madness has turned into March Sadness, with no one expecting the number two ranked Michigan State Spartans to be outplayed by #15 ranked Middle Tennessee. But that’s what happened on Friday, March 18 2016. How to explain this shocking loss that left only 6 perfect ESPN Tournament Challenge brackets out of approximately 13 million? (Mary and I both had the Spartans making it to the final two in our brackets!) In addition to what all the experts are saying, a sense of overconfidence must have also played a role in the loss. MSU went into that game thinking there was NO WAY they would lose. There was a distinct lack of focus, just as there was a distinct lack of belief when the final buzzer sounded. Of course there is a lot of skill and a bit of luck involved in every win, but it usually comes down to a mental attitude. Who wanted it more? Obviously the Blue Raiders in this case. It’s hard to fathom any other reason played a larger role in the loss. Yes the Spartans were outplayed, but according to kenpom stats, Michigan State would win that game 92.2% of the time if it were played again. Overconfidence is something that can effect the outcome of a lot of situations, including your business. It’s never wise to rest on your laurels, no matter how good you are or how many customers you have at any given point. You need to make every decision and play every game as if you are going up against your fiercest competitor. The Michigan State Spartans learned that the hard way. Better luck next year Sparty.