And the Frenzies go to ...
Maryland Tops Cold-Shooting Rutgers
Oscars. Emmys. Grammys. Frenzies?
With the awards season in full swing, why not hand out some "hardware" of our own? After all, Sunday's February Frenzy -- eight regionalized games in two telecast windows on ESPN2 -- lasted nearly five hours, and some of the acceptance speeches and perhaps Hugh Jackman's monologue on Oscar night will no doubt seem as long.
So although the Oscar winners will be announced Sunday and the real statuettes -- the Wade Trophy and Naismith Player of the Year honors -- will be awarded in early April, the first annual Frenzies go to:
Best picture: It lacked the overtime drama of Marist-Hartford or the down-to-the-wire finish between Texas and Iowa State, but doesn't it just seem fitting for NC State to pull off February Frenzy's biggest upset? The Wolfpack knocked off No. 15 Virginia 60-54 on Sunday to win just their 11th game of the season. On a day when pink reigned and thousands of dollars were raised for breast cancer research and awareness, NC State knew how to really pay a tribute to former coach Kay Yow, who died Jan. 24 after a decades-long fight with cancer. Said ESPN's Kara Lawson: "NC State came out on fire. The Wolfpack took Virginia out of its element and attacked the Cavs on the defensive end. They are a great lesson in resiliency, for the way they've been able to mourn the loss of Kay Yow yet keep their focus and channel that energy into the program and in playing for her memory."
Best actress in a leading role: Connecticut's Renee Montgomery jump-starts the Huskies like no other player in the country. Sunday was no exception … or a perfect example (take your pick). Top-ranked UConn just steamrolled No. 23 Pittsburgh, which could have made a claim as the Big East's second-best team before today. The senior point guard had 20 points and just one turnover in UConn's 95-42 devastation. She spearheaded the early assault that left the Panthers spitting out the figurative Husky dust. This came after perhaps the biggest honor of her career. Montgomery became the first active UConn player to have her jersey raised to the Huskies of Honor above the Gampel Pavilion court. She has been so good, so classy and so consistent that they just couldn't wait. Sunday was just more of the same.
Best actress in a supporting role: Playing without lead Wildcat Shalee Lehning, No. 16 Kansas State turned to sweat -- Ashley Sweat. The 6-foot-2 junior delivered, nearly doubling her scoring average with 31 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field and a perfect 13-for-13 at the line in the Wildcats' 79-71 triumph. Oklahoma State couldn't contain Sweat on the low block, especially in the second half, when the Wildcats grabbed control about midway through. Despite being Kansas State's leading scorer, Sweat generally defers most of the attention to Lehning. But with the point guard out with a bout of mononucleosis, Sweat rose up from her understudy role. Sweat was so impressive she emerges as our winner despite not being on the official February Frenzy ballot at the start of the day. But she's a write-in candidate after a performance that was just too good to be ignored.
Best costume design: It's always amazing to see so many different teams incorporate pink into their uniforms to take part in the Pink Zone initiative. After all, these programs are spending extra money on an entire set of new uniforms or shoes. Georgia and Rutgers incorporated pink stripes into their red uniforms, Vandy abandoned its gold altogether for pink and black uniforms, and pink and burnt orange even made a rare appearance together (thank you, Earnesia Williams). Still, who can top NC State? Not only has "Yow" replaced the Wolfpack players' names on the back of the jersey, the front of the jersey now includes a pink heart-shaped patch with "Yow" in the middle on the right shoulder, and the pink breast cancer awareness ribbon -- turned upside down, naturally, to look like a Y -- on the left shoulder. Second place goes to Marist coach Brian Giorgis, who unlike his male counterparts Sunday who just wore pink ties, donned a solid pink polo shirt. It was genius in its simplicity and gave him the unofficial title of pinkest coach this side of NC State's Stephanie Glance.
Best comeback: Granted, we're taking a little leeway with the categories, but Purdue's FahKara Malone netted seven points, five assists and two steals in 25 minutes. The junior point guard made just her second start since missing nine games with a dislocated finger suffered Jan. 1. Though Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton led the Boilermakers past Illinois 68-50 with 18 points and 10 boards (she's just nine rebounds shy of setting the career record at Purdue), Malone helped spearhead a defense that forced 18 turnovers and 10 steals. And with Malone back, and Lauren Mioton and Brittany Rayburn back in their more natural wing spots, the Boilermakers are a prime candidate to move up the S-curve, let alone challenge for the Big Ten title. Having already lost to Ohio State twice and with just three games remaining, it might be difficult for Purdue to overtake the Buckeyes, but Michigan State is still in the Boilers' sites. That could mean a No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament and more importantly, the ability to get out of the 8-9 seed NCAA scenario.
Best score: Marist didn't just score a 78-73 overtime victory over Hartford on Sunday. The Red Foxes scored some serious payback. Last season, Hartford beat Marist 49-32 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., to snap the Red Foxes' 26-game home winning streak. Sunday, Marist ended Hartford's 34-game home winning streak. The Hawks hadn't lost at home since Nov. 29, 2006.
Best director: No. 20 Iowa State had the last possession Sunday, but the Cyclones failed to get a shot off and lost to 14th-ranked Texas 55-52. Technically, Longhorns coach Gail Goestenkors didn't make any game-saving changes down the stretch. But some adjustments she made before Texas' Feb. 1 game against Baylor -- the Longhorns had just lost to Texas A&M by 12, and at that point had lost four of their past six and were 2-3 in the Big 12 -- might have saved the season. As Mechelle Voepel writes in Sunday's blog, "Goestenkors decided she needed more athleticism on the perimeter, so she moved freshman guard Ashleigh Fontenette and freshman post Ashley Gayle into the starting lineup, and moved Kat Nash from the 3 spot to the 4. In doing that, she benched seniors Earnesia Williams and Ashley Lindsey." But since making that move, Texas is 5-0, including Sunday's win. "Goestenkors thinks that was a turning point, because it allowed her to be more athletic at guard, plus gave them an energy boost," Voepel added.
Best animation: Andy Landers scored points for his pink-striped tie and sneakers. But the Pink Zone initiative got an extra boost when the Georgia coach's face nearly turned pink while he was shouting orders to his Lady Dogs from the baseline bench that makes Vanderbilt such a unique place to play. Georgia desperately needed a résumé-boosting victory, but fell short Sunday, 80-64. With the score tied at 47, No. 24 Vanderbilt pulled away for good with a 17-3 run.
Lifetime achievement: Who else? If you didn't think of Kay Yow at least once every five minutes throughout Sunday's games, we'd be surprised. Over the course of her 34-year career, Yow made immeasurable differences in the lives of many women's basketball players. But her fight against cancer will have had an even bigger impact.