Madness would be an understatement describing what the past week has been like in the world of college basketball. So far, this NCAA tournament has had everything from upsets to that Burger King commercial featuring Hootie singing about the Tender Crisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich being played about 20 times during every game.

Unfortunately, the madness ended Sunday for Cyclone fans across the country.

In what turned out to be a blowout loss to North Carolina, the Cyclones went down fighting. That’s what I love about this team — they don’t die for anyone.

Jared Homan and the team’s heart were the only bright spots in a loss filled with turnovers, ugly basketball and, more importantly, lack of energy by a shorthanded Cyclone team.

I said a few weeks ago that the lack of depth for this team was working as a positive because of the chemistry it was developing. That wasn’t the case on Sunday, as the Cyclones were visibly gassed in the first half, but they still played their hearts out.

Keep in mind that the Cyclones had six players who scored, compared to Carolina’s 10.

There were two things in this game that absolutely drove me insane. One, the Cyclones didn’t cover the spread.

Second, Billy Packer might as well have worn a nice, authentic, powder blue Carolina jersey to the game. Packer, aka Mr. ACC, was extremely annoying the entire game. It was obvious, especially during the first half, that Packer knew nothing about Iowa State’s style of ball. Billy, for some reason, also said Iowa State won the NCAA wrestling championships, which wasn’t true. You were only off by nine places, Billy. Then, Slick Willy accused Curtis Stinson of throwing a “flagrant” elbow, which was about as true as calling “The OC’s” Julie Cooper a virgin.

This game didn’t come down to missed opportunities. It didn’t even come down to whose players got tired, either. North Carolina was a lot better than Iowa State, and that’s the end of the story.

The saddest part of the game for me was watching my favorite player in Cyclone history — Jared Homan — play his last game. That guy is a true competitor. If I ever have a kid who plays basketball, I would want him to play the game just like Homan.

Looking ahead to next year, I think the Cyclones have a real chance to be a top team in the Big 12 with the return of their backcourt. Granted, they will need to develop some inside players fast, as Homan and Damion Staple are both graduating. The Cyclones have some solid freshmen coming in with Shawn Taggart, Kellen Lee and Ross Marsden.

Iowa State will have Anthony Davis back next year to be a key player off the bench, and Rahshon Clark and Tasheed Carr can only improve from their solid freshman seasons. And last but not least, somebody needs to light a fire under John Neal. The kid can play — we’ve all seen it — he just needs his confidence back.