The difference between a 40-minute college — or FIBA — game and a 48-minute NBA game is much more than those eight minutes. Those eight minutes seemingly separate so much. Plenty of teams can compete for that shorter time period, but that extended time is an eternity.
It takes something different to get those final eight minutes. It takes something different to play with the urgency and focus required to get to the finish line.
It is in these final eight minutes that culture is built. When a team is mentally strained and has to execute as time ticks do they respond?