Tony’s Top 10: Counting down college basketball’s Oscar winners

Pitt lost on Sunday in overtime at Louisville, 62-59. And thanks to an overly excited male… Pitt lost on Sunday in overtime at Louisville, 62-59. And thanks to an overly excited male cheerleader, Pitt had a slim chance to tie it up at the end. But instead of boring you with talk about how the loss isn’t that big of a deal and Pitt will still be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, I’m going to try something new.

The Oscars took place on Sunday, so in the spirit of completely piggy-backing off its hype, I bring you the College Basketball Oscar’s for my top 10 this week.

10. Best Costume Design — Pitt. Nike started a recent trend in uniform design in 2009 with its new aerographic jerseys. The jerseys feature a unique design on the back of the jersey behind the numbers for each school. Pitt jumped on board this year and easily surpassed every other aerographic jersey on the market.

Not only is the Cathedral of Learning prominently featured, but there is also an Oakland Zoo logo — further proof that the Oakland Zoo is truly part of the team and the best sixth man in the nation.

9. Lifetime Achievement Award — Nolan Smith. When I first watched a Duke game this year and saw starting guard Smith was a senior, my first reaction was, “Again!?” It seems like this is his third year as a senior. He’s been starting since his sophomore year, so it just feels like a long time. Kudos to him for the long, successful career.

8. Best Actor — Jimmer Fredette. There weren’t even any other nominees in this category. In fact, “The Jimmer Show” will probably win an Emmy next fall.

7. Best Supporting Actor — Travon Woodall. Woodall always provides solid depth at the guard position for the Panthers, but he was truly tested for the first time two weeks ago when starting point guard Ashton Gibbs went down with an MCL injury.

Woodall filled in for the Panthers on the road at West Virginia and at Villanova. Pitt won both games, thanks in part to Woodall’s sturdy presence at the top of the key.

6. Best Comedy — DePaul. Sure, it’s a comedy of errors, but those are the best kind. You can’t help but feel sorry for DePaul. It hasn’t had a winning record in the Big East since the Lincoln administration. It was about to upset Villanova last weekend, and all it needed to do was stop the Wildcats from scoring in the last few seconds. It failed, and Villanova won in overtime.

5. Best Visual Effects — Oregon. Since Nike’s founder, Philip Knight, is an Oregon alum, he basically hooks up the Ducks with all kinds of free goodies. When the Ducks opened their new basketball arena last month, its court design wowed the whole country. Green trees line the entire court, so it looks as if one is standing in the woods while looking at the floor. The only thing better than the court itself were the crazy visual effects of the grand opening ceremony — it rivaled the opening ceremonies at Beijing.

4. Best Drama — Michigan State. The Spartans were also a nominee in the “Best Comedy” category, but it appears they will likely earn an NCAA Tournament berth. Michigan State started the year ranked in the top 5, but it quickly fell out of the rankings. Now the Spartans are 16-12 and 8-8 in the Big Ten.

Every time it looks like Michigan State is down for the count, it comes out and gets a big win. I wouldn’t be surprised if head coach Tom Izzo leads the Spartans on a run in the Tournament.

3. Best Directing — Steve Lavin. The St. John’s head coach turned a once-proud, but woeful-as-of-late, Red Storm program back into a contender. St. John’s used to be the epitome of the Big East — it is a founding member and it plays at Madison Square Garden, the Mecca of basketball. Thanks to Lavin, the Red Storm are about to make it to the NCAA Tournament again, and they might even grab a high seed.

2. Best Picture — St. John’s. Like always, the “Best Picture” award goes to the same story that won “Best Directing.” St. John’s season is just too magical to overlook.

The Red Storm were hyped up at the beginning of the year, then they quickly flopped against St. Mary’s, St. Bonaventure and Fordham. Fast-forward a few months, and they have wins against Duke, Pitt, Connecticut and Villanova. It also looks like they will have a double-bye in the Big East tournament — which is played at Madison Square Garden.

1. Best Music — Purdue’s student section. Earlier in the year, Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger recorded an incredibly awful version of Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA.” The painful rendition quickly became a viral video, and when the Buckeyes visited the Boilermakers, the student section known as the Paint Crew performed perhaps the best insult in college basketball history. Every single student in attendance sang “Party in the USA” and danced while Sullinger shot free throws. He made both shots, but Purdue won the game.

There you go, I hope the NCAA Oscars were a success. Maybe next year we can have a red carpet and have Joan Rivers mindlessly blab about fashion.