What happens when the best you can do is not enough?

The NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket was released yesterday afternoon, and Clemson didn’t make the cut despite being the #3 seed in the ACC tournament with a record of 23 – 10 (14 – 6 in the ACC). NC State is in the tournament as an 11-seed. NC State also had a record of 23 – 10, but they were the #6 seed in the ACC tournament. Clemson beat NC State three times this season with margins of 14 points (at home), 25 points (at NC State), and 26 points (neutral site).

Most pundits said Clemson was wrongfully snubbed. I heard part of an interview with the Chairman of the NCAA Selection Committee. I didn’t hear him discuss Clemson, but of the teams he did discuss, one time he said “metrics;” another time it was “body of work over the whole season;” another time it was “quality wins.” In other words, if you have enough selection parameters, you can do just about anything you want. The Clemson coach said it was a shame when metrics override common sense and head-to-head competition.

Back to the original question: what do you do when the best you can do is not good enough? Clemson was selected for the National Invitational Tournament, and they go in as a #1 seed. The NIT is clearly a second-rate tournament given that the NCAA Tournament has 68 teams in it.

The University of North Carolina (UNC), a basketball blueblood, who began the year ranked #1, had a disastrous start to their season, but they did better in the second half, finishing with a 20 – 13 record. They also were excluded from the NCAA Tournament, rightfully so, but they declined to play in the NIT. (It appears that UNC thinks it’s too good to play in the lowly NIT.)

I’m proud of Clemson for swallowing their disappointment and accepting the NIT’s invitation. Let’s see how they do – their first game is Wednesday.

It’s one thing to play hard when you want to win the national championship or even get into the tournament where that’s the prize. Do you continue to play hard for what appears to be a second-tier goal?

As believers, we don’t compete for a second-tier goal, but we do persevere through tough times. How?

I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory prize through the anointing of Jesus. (Philippians 3.13, 14, TPT)