I unabashedly admit that I am a college basketball junkie. My team, the University of Louisville Cardinals, earned the top overall number one seed in the N.C.A.A. tourney and at this writing; they are headed for the Sweet 16.

Lately, my Cards have been down at half time and then just demoralize their opponent in the second half. I am curious as to what goes on in that locker room to make the light come on for the players. Does being down inspire a team or an individual to reach their maximum potential?

Jonah Berger, assistant professor of marketing and Devin Pope, an assistant professor of operations and information management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, analyzed game outcomes based on the half time score. They researched N.C.A.A. teams across all divisions and found that teams down by 4 at halftime lose about 60 percent of games. Teams down by 8 lose about 80 percent of the time. They analyzed more than 6,000 N.C.A.A. basketball games played in the past four seasons. Surprisingly, the data show that trailing by a little can actually be a good thing.

According to Berger and Pope, on average the team with the lead should win more than half of those games. The data however shows the opposite. The team trailing by a point actually wins more often.  According to the research, being slightly behind increases a team’s chance of winning by 5 percent to 7 percent.

I suspect that a good reason for the second half turnarounds is the result of great coaches, motivational techniques and good team chemistry.

If you are like most people, you are probably feeling like a team that is down at half against a very tough opponent, the economy. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to become that great coach. We need to be that motivational coach to others and ourselves everyday.

When it comes to sales, recruitment or maintaining existing clients, never underestimate the power of motivation. As coaches we need to motivate our teams to do that one little extra thing that will make us better than the competition.

Often time’s leaders think that money is the motivator for those that we mentor. In fact, the desire for more money tends to score much lower. Motivation is best delivered when we understand the human need to belong to a group. The three motivators that consistently rank at the top of employee list are:

• Advancement
• Type of work
• A company that they are proud to work for

So, if your team finds itself a little ahead at half, perhaps you should remind them what is going on in the other locker room – they are planning a big second half surge. I hope you enjoy the rest of the N.C.A.A. tournament. Go Cards!