Helping out the State Schools

I touched on this during my uni tourni. Both Washington State and Mississippi State have such annoying clusterfucks on the front of their jerseys.

Couldn't Mississippi State have tweaked this?














And why couldn't Washington State have made this simple adjustment? (Please excuse my horrible editing skills. As a popular YouTube videographer has said, I suck at photoshop)
















It's really not that hard to make a solid uniform.

Uni Tourni! - Final Four

In a tourney filled with seed upsets, but merely a few true major upsets, we've reached the Final Four. I believe you have a great representation of today's college basketball uniform. You have the fresh, new look of the Nike S.O.D. (System-of-Dress, in case you had no idea what this meant all along!), the unique trademarks that make a school stand out, some experimentation, and a classic template that, to be honest, all schools with more than one word names should take a look at (I'm talking to you, Mississippi State and Washington State!)

Here are the matchups:

East Region Winner
(1) UNC

versus

Midwest Region Winner
(12) Villanova


South Region Winner
(2) Texas

versus

West Region Winner
(8) BYU

I'm gonna sleep on this for a day or two. Feel free to comment in the meantime.

Uni Tourni! - West Region

How the west is won...

First Round
(1) UCLA over (16) Miss. Valley St.

Pretty simple one. Hard to beat UCLA.

(8) BYU over (9) Texas A&M

BYU has a classic look. Texas A&M has way too much going on with their side panels.

(5) Drake over (12) West. Ky.

WKU a little disproportionate. Drake keeps it simple.

(4) UConn over (13) San Diego

USD may have taken this if they had stuck to one shade for most of their trim and numbers.

(6) Purdue over (11) Baylor

Baylor trying too hard to be Oregon. Purdue is classic with a modern touch.

(3) Xavier over (14) Georgia

Bulldogs look a little lost with these. And the shoulder panels!!! Ugh!!

(7) West. Va. over (10) Arizona

Shame on the Wildcats for switching to the SOD. Their old unis were fantastic.

(2) Duke over (15) Belmont

Belmont puts up a solid fight, but Duke's unis are pretty classic.

Second Round
(8) BYU over (1) UCLA

I have some explaining to do. Or maybe UCLA does. It's one thing to celebrate your school's 100 national championships. It's one thing to do it amongst your school. It's another thing to do it so passive aggressively, showing off in front of the country, and have it affect a perfectly classic uniform. The "C" doesn't necessarily ruin it, but it screams pretension. It makes me slightly irritated when I see them take the floor. Meanwhile, BYU's uniforms are fantastic. BYU in an upset!

(4) UConn over (5) Drake

Drake's name plate is a little too NBA-ish for me. UConn has a fresh look, although the lines create a maze or something.

(3) Xavier over (6) Purdue

Apparently, Xavier changed up their secondary color this year. They also changed up their uniform, but it still beats Purdue.

(2) Duke over (7) West. Va.

Duke's unis are great. They've made some tweaks over the years, and I think the font has changed for the worse, but not enough to sway me here. WVU has some solid unis. The football team can take a lesson in fonts from these.

Sweet 16
(8) BYU over (4) UConn

Here's where UConn's maze doesn't work. It's forward-thinking, but I'm not there yet, and I'm not sure many are.

(2) Duke over (3) Xavier

Last year's Xavier uni would have possibly won this, but not this year's.

Elite 8
(8) BYU over (2) Duke

Here's where the Duke unis of the 1990s would have easily won. A little luster has been taken off their unis. Meanwhile, BYU's unis have a class and balance that I love. Michael Jackson's favorite school goes to the Final Four!

West Region Winner
BYU

Close Runner-Ups
Duke, UCLA

Uni Tourni! - South Region

The dirty, dirty...

First Round
(16) UT-Arlington over (1) Memphis

Memphis has some serious imbalance going on, and their collar is awful. I know I hate shoulder panels, but UTA's overall look is better.

(9) Oregon over (8) Miss. St.

This isn't football, so the Ducks' unis are slightly more bearable. But more importantly here, MSU needs to put that number in between the "Mississippi" and "State".

(12) Temple over (5) Mich. St.

In a close call, Temple moves on. I favor Michigan State's first iteration of the "State" unis after they won it all in 2000.

(4) Pitt over (13) Oral Roberts

ORU!!! It's just too big on there. Pitt has a solid look. I think they have the same template as Temple, so we'll see how that shakes out next round.

(6) Marquette over (11) Kentucky

Marquette is on to something with those pretty side panels, although the shoulders are a little unnecessary. Kentucky had better ones in the 90s.

(14) Cornell over (3) Stanford

Bring one home for the Ivy League. Stanford gave up on a solid look a few years back.

(7) Miami over (10) St. Mary's

The goth font isn't working for me.

(2) Texas over (15) Austin Peay

Go Peay! Or just go home.

Second Round
(9) Oregon over (16) UT-Arlington

I'm in favor of a bold look with shoulder panels over just plain shoulder panels.

(4) Pitt over (12) Temple

Pitt comes with a little less clutter and a better color scheme. Sorry, Temple. Sorry, Mom.

(6) Marquette over (14) Cornell

Just prettier to look at, although the white name on white jersey might start getting to me.

(2) Texas over (7) Miami

Orange and green are tough colors to work with. Texas keeps it simple and crisp.

Sweet 16
(4) Pitt over (9) Oregon

The unevenness now works against Oregon. Pitt has more balance and is just a nicer uniform. You can't even see Oregon's names on the back of their jerseys, even though they're there!!

(2) Texas over (6) Marquette

Classic and simple beats colorful, yet odd. Take away the shoulders for Marquette and color in the team name, and it may have swung the other way. Dare I say - follow Syracuse, and Marquette would have advanced.

Elite 8
(2) Texas over (4) Pitt

I don't want to sound redundant here, but the 'Horns have a cleaner look and maintain their identity. Pitt is solid, but not solid enough to advance.

South Region Winner
Texas

Close Runner-Ups
Pitt, Marquette

Uni Tourni! - Midwest Region

We continue with the Midwest region...

First Round
(16) Portland State over (1) Kansas

16 seeds can win in this tournament. Kansas messed up a good thing, especially changing their font this year. Throw it back, Chalkers!

(9) Kent State over (8) UNLV

Golden Flashes move on. The Rebels may as well have flasing lights and a scrolling marquee on their backs.

(12) Nova over (5) Clemson

In a touchy battle, with Nova's unequal shoulder stripes and Clemson's uniform being marred by their terrible shoulder panels.

(4) Vandy over (13) Siena

Not sure what Siena is doing with lots of yellow and white, and thank goodness Vandy didn't go with the home gold's, cuz they have the shoulder panels!

(11) K-State over (6) USC

In a matchup that Nike was moist over, K-State takes the cake (say that 10 times fast) with a slightly sharper edge.

(14) Cal-State Fullerton over (3) Wisconsin

CSF with the more classic look here.

(7) Gonzaga over (10) Davidson

Zags on thin ice, though, with the thick trim.

(2) G'Town over (15) UMBC

Hoyas switching to the SOD just in time, as UMBC would have made this a tougher decision.

Second Round

(9) Kent State over (16) Portland State

In a weak matchup, Kent State's bolder look prevails. Not much more to say here!

(12) Nova over (4) Vandy

Nova's color scheme is just bolder and more pleasant to look at. Vandy's font is boring and a little small. Let's see an SOD with "Vandy" on the chest!

(11) K-State over (14) Cal-State Fullerton

Too loud with the "Fullerton". K-State a much crisper look.

(2) G'Town over (7) Gonzaga

Gonzaga's trim is too thick. They had a better shot a few years back when we were still amazed at their success. Perhaps it's gone to their heads in the uni department. G'Town's home grays and paisley are tight, and look good with the SOD unis.

Sweet 16
(12) Nova over (9) Kent State

Weak matchup - Kent State is too busy with the side panels. Nova has a crisp look and I continue to love their color scheme. I hope no one is sensing a Philly bias here.

(11) K-State over (2) G'Town

It's Nike vs. Nike. SOD vs. SOD. I think the deciding factor was how the Hoyas' unis are a little off with the side panels. Sure, the paisley is there, but it's almost too bland. K-State is simple and dynamic.

Elite 8
(12) Nova over (11) K-State

Kudos to the risky double-colored shoulder stripes for Nova. Still manages to be simple and crisp. K-State bows out here being a little too boring - there's no real distinction in their unis, and the K-State novelty has worn off.

Midwest Region Winner
Villanova

Close Runner-Ups
K-State, G'Town