"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence," Helen Keller

TOWSON, Md. – For all that inflation has affected, one price has remained unchanged: the cost of dreaming.
 
You can do that for free.
 
After all, if you don't dream, you won't have a dream come true.
 
Everybody knows March is unpredictable, wild and exhilarating. Favorites -- regardless of budget, student body size or pedigree -- fall short. Memorable upsets are what make March special.
 
The Towson University men's basketball team is like everybody else competing in the upcoming Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament presented by Jersey Mike's, in that it has a chance to make its hoop dreams a reality and earn the coveted ticket to the NCAA Tournament that goes to the last team standing on Tuesday night.
 
Odds mean nothing. The four consecutive setbacks to conclude the regular season are not important. History is irrelevant. Nothing matters except that Towson still has the same chance as CAA regular season champion Hofstra.
 
Anything is possible.
 
In order to accomplish something, you must first imagine it. And whatever you imagine, it can be achieved.
 
As long as the ninth-seeded Tigers are still gathering for pre-game meals, film sessions, shootarounds and riding team buses, they have an opportunity to do something special beginning against eighth-seeded James Madison at 4 p.m. in Saturday's opening round at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Tigers and Dukes split a pair of games this season with each team holding serve at home.
 
Every team in the CAA Tournament presented by Jersey Mike's has a 0-0 record.
 
Towson's players can visualize being the last team standing and cutting down the nets next Tuesday night. Studies have shown that mental rehearsal methods in performance psychology -- where visualization of athletic performance -- can facilitate pristine performance in real time conditions.
 
Dreams help you discover yourself and reach your goals.
 
And while Towson will have to do basketball things like consistently make shots, focus on the details, defend at an elite level, rebound and stay poised through adversity, the power of positive thinking can make a difference and inject the Tigers with enough confidence to create lifetime memories.
 
In a win-and-go home scenario, the best teams don't always win.

There may be a chorus of cynics outside of Towson that don't give the Tigers a chance to win the CAA tournament. The Tigers can't lose hope in the face of naysayers. As long as the Towson travel party believes it will win, that's all that counts. The journey will be hard. However, the Tigers know if they work hard, stay together, be resilient, and sacrifice, they will give themselves an opportunity to make their dreams a reality.
 
When you have faith, positive rewards are possible.
 
Things have happened before in March that provide inspiration for the Tigers.
 
Teams have won four games in four consecutive days to win a conference tournament. Georgia won two games in the same day in the Southeastern Conference tournament in 2008. Several teams with below .500 records have qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
 
Former CAA schools George Mason and VCU have advanced to the Final Four. A No. 16 seed has knocked off a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Lastly, UConn's 111-game winning streak was ended in one the greatest upsets in women's basketball history.
 
So you see, Towson has plenty of examples to draw from to know that anything can be achieved by believing and being positive. Performing with belief was a critical factor for accomplishing the improbable and being successful.
 
While these aren't regular occurrences, they have happened, which provides plenty of optimism. Belief creates vision. Belief creates strength of will. Belief creates resilience. Belief ignites and activates.
 
Of course, it won't be easy. There's a reason why the Tigers are seeded ninth.
 
They've lost eight games by six points or less and two other games in double overtime. One of those gut-wrenching double overtime losses occurred less than two weeks ago to Hofstra, in which the Tigers led by 10 points with under 10 minutes remaining and scored the first six points of the first overtime.
 
None of that matters.
 
Now, it's Towson's time to be the dream.