Over the past couple weeks. the eye of the sports nation has been on college men's basketball. It's the most wonderful time of the year as an old ESPN promo proclaims. March Madness. The Tournament.

Is it just me, or was this year's tourney a bust? As a rule, if the team I back - the Iowa Hawkeyes - is not in the tournament, I cheer for the underdog. I think that's pretty standard across the board for most sports fans. If your team isn't there, what's better than seeing programs like Duke, North Carolina or UCLA fall to the Davidsons, the Gonzagas, the George Masons of the world? It's great.

Watching the first few rounds of this year's tournament, there were the usual surprises that sent everybody's online brackets and office pools into disarray. Davidson knocked off Georgetown and Wisconsin to reach the Elite 8, San Diego and Western Kentucky made nice runs. It was what we all hope for. Then, over the weekend, it all came crashing down.

Kansas - usually reliable for an early exit - got over the hump and slipped by Davidson to reach the Final Four. The J-Hawks' victory was history-making as all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four for the first time since the tournament expanded. And you know what? I couldn't be more bored.

The match-ups for the upcoming Final Four - Kansas vs UNC and Memphis vs UCLA - are indeed juicy. It's the four best teams during the regular season - maybe outside of Tennessee - battling it out for the National Title. But, as an Iowa fan, who cares? What team should I cheer for to take home the title? I can't figure it out.

I could just be a casual observer, watching the games just to enjoy one last dose of college basketball before the long layoff. That's not me, though. I can't watch a game without having something invested in the outcome. Thinking about the four teams in the Final Four, however, raises a question. Which is the least offensive?

As a basketball purist, I can't back Memphis. The Tigers are the closest thing to an And1 streetball crew as you'll see in the tournament. Boo.

UCLA has the most NCAA championships of any school thanks to the historic runs during the John Wooden era. Watching the Bruins add another banner to the rafters is not exactly appetizing.

Kansas may be the least offensive of the group because the J-Hawks haven't won since Danny Manning's day. Still, Kansas has a history of stealing Iowa's best players - Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich, Raef LaFrentz - so it's hard to pull for them.

And finally we come to North Carolina. The Tar Heels are the overall No. 1 seed in the tourney. What's worse than cheering for the best team? That's like going to Vegas and cheering for the house to win. No thanks.

Additionally, the Tar Heels are powered by All-American Tyler Hansbrough. As a rule, I like Big White Guy. He's my hero. Players like Hansbrough, UCLA's Kevin Love and others are truly fun to watch.

During UNC's quarterfinal game with Louisville, however, I couldn't help but wonder if Jay Bilas and Dick Enberg were getting paid per time they mentioned Hansbrough's name. Every other sentence during the broadcast was praise for Hansbrough. Bilas even went so far as to say no other player in college basketball history has competed as hard as Hansbrough - including Michael Jordan. That was it for me. No more Tyler Hansbrough, please. Bilas' ranting did for me what Dick Vitale's fawning over Duke has done for just about every other basketball fan nationwide. You just can't wait to see the Dukies crash and burn. Now I can't wait to see Hansbrough sobbing on the sidelines when - and if - the Tar Heels are bounced.

So what's left to do? Jump on some bandwagon already overcrowded not only by fans but supposedly objective analysts and commentators? Is there a team out there somewhere that needs my moral support? It's certainly not UNC, Kansas, Memphis or UCLA. I just don't know...is the NIT over yet?

Sidenote: Is it just me or are teams from Iowa doomed to fail come tournament time? It's getting pretty irritating. The last time Iowa State had a decent team, the Cyclones - a No. 2 seed - bowed out to Hampton in the first round. Just a couple years ago, Iowa was knocked off in the first round at the buzzer by Northwestern State. This year Drake joined the club as Western Kentucky buried a three at the horn to end the Bulldogs' most successful season in about three decades. What's the deal? What has Iowa Fan done to deserve this unjust fate?