A week ago, Cyclone faithful were as critical of Wayne Morgan as Simon Cowell. Saturday, the Cyclones upset the hottest team in the Big 12, and they did it in an earth-shattering fashion.

Iowa State went into Saturday’s game against Oklahoma 0-5 in the Big 12, yet Hilton was full of people and, more importantly, energy.

I refuse to believe this season is over, unlike many other sports writers in this area.

Did we not learn anything from the football season? Before the Baylor game, ISU fans were just hoping to win a single conference game, let alone a bowl game.

There are many keys for this basketball team, and the most important is energy, which comes from more than just the players. Hilton Coliseum was dead at the start of the Colorado game, and the players fed off of that. The Oklahoma game was a completely different story, as Hilton was as crazy as a KISS concert, and look what happened. Iowa State’s basketball team has a tendency to play down to its competition, and so does the crowd.

Therefore, I challenge the students to treat the Baylor game just as they would treat a Kansas or Iowa game, because when Hilton Coliseum is rocking, it’s one of the top home-court advantages in all of college basketball.

Another key for Iowa State’s remaining games is role players stepping up, as a lot of them did Saturday. Rahshon Clark is the basketball team’s version of Ellis Hobbs, as he works the crowd and works harder than anybody else on the floor. Tasheed Carr and Damion Staple both had huge games Saturday, which must continue. This team has the talent to be in the NCAA tournament — it just has to put it all together. Let’s not forget how young this team really is.

Now let’s give Wayne Morgan a break here. It’s not like this team hasn’t had its share of injuries and suspensions. Yeah, Iowa State started off 0-5 in the conference. People talk about that, but nobody says that all five of those losses were close games. Iowa State had a chance to win each and every one of those games and, with experience, those wins will come.

Let’s look to the future here. Iowa State has home games left against Baylor, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Kansas State and Missouri. There is no reason why the Cyclones won’t win at home. The remaining road games are at Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas A&M and Colorado. The Cyclones will win at least two of those games. All big ifs, but I believe it’s possible. This team will feed off Saturday’s upset, and players like Carr and Staple will gain a lot of confidence.

The NCAA tournament is well in doubt, barring some major road upsets, but next year still looks positive.

Jared Homan and Staple are graduating, but the second-ranked high school center in the country has already committed to Iowa State, and other help is coming for the inside.

Treat Baylor like the Iowa Hawkeyes and avoid another Colorado-esque letdown.

Devote your top-of-the-line energy to the Nebraska and Missouri games like you’d bring to a game on national TV.

Let’s show the Big 12 and the country how magical Hilton Coliseum can be.