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The best college basketball jerseys of all time

By Andrew D

August 06, 2022

Best college basketball uniforms

Now, those of you who enjoyed our recent article about the best NBA jerseys of all time must be crying out for more.

"I neeeed a similarly in-depth, academically-detailed piece about uniforms in college basketball!"

Well, dear readers. You need wail and gnash your teeth no longer.

After 2 days of incredible demand and pressure to deliver - we are proud to bring you - the best NCAA basketball uniforms. You may now dance with glee.

You're welcome

As usual, the team here in The Jump Hub office was unable to agree on anything even resembling a final list. We have managed to whittle it down to our individual college hoops favourites. But unless you want to see bloodshed, you're going to have to go ahead and rank the best college basketball jerseys yourselves ok?

What, you thought we were just going to do all the work for you? Lazy...

Georgetown

Ok, so Georgetown's basketball program is on the struggle bus right now. Making it to the NCAA "March Madness" Tournament even seems a bridge too far.

But, maybe you misread. This is an article about jerseys...

We loved the old school black version that Allen Iverson wore when he was such a dominant force for Georgetown. Check out the YouTube video and be reminded of how good he was. And how cool that black jersey with the white lettering was...

North Carolina

An iconic design for so many reasons. All of them Michael Jordan.

Well, that's an exaggeration.

The Carolina blue color with the argyle pattern design down the side is possibly the most instantly recognizable look in college sports.

It’s just a classic-looking jersey. Nice and simple with a traditional look, as most of the best designs are.

No-nonsense font with the number splitting the team name. You know the drill. Nike and the Jordan brand seldom hit anything other than slam-dunks when it comes to this kind of thing.

We kinda like the white one from Jordan's antics in the YouTube video the best...

Kansas

The Jayhawks' Adidas-sponsored red jersey is a strong, commanding look. The white piping with the blue edges finishes the look nicely. Nothing too snazzy. Just a striking jersey that stands out from the crowd.

The Jayhawks largely stuck with their alternate jerseys in recent times. Here's hoping they have a change of heart.

Villanova

We love the navy jersey with the white V-neck. It's a super-sharp look.

One of our favorite Nike non-Jordan brand designs.

The blue is so deep it's almost black and the collar just pops against the dark body. White numbers and lettering enhance the look with a shadow effect that makes them stand out even more. Nice detail.

UCLA

We liked UCLA's traditional heritage jersey from 2015/16.

It harked back to the classic jersey from 1965.

The blue, gold and white color scheme was already a design classic so they to be careful to keep the real essence of that jersey and what it means to fans.

The team went 28-2 that season and won the NCAA tournament title.

Bruins coaching legend John Wooden celebrated his 17th year as the program head. 
All-in-all a momentous time in UCLA's school history and one we were glad to see being respected in this way. Kudos

Shame Wooden didn't live to see it - RIP

Check out some footage from that game:

Sure - it's in black and white. The picture is terrible. So what? It's a pretty sweet piece of college basketball history...

Duke

The Blue Devils' jersey is another cracker. Deep, royal blue with white accents gives it a rather timeless, classic look. But it still manages to have a cool retro feel.

There are different versions of the home white uniform and the road blue. But they also introduced a sharp black uniform.

Cincinnati

The Bearcat's throwback jersey was outstanding. The 1974 version was a smart white with red accents. The words "The Cats" emblazoned across the front was a killer touch and the throwbacks have kept that.

Oregon

You don’t see many awesome pre-World War II sports uniforms but the Ducks’ 1939 look is an exception. Oregon won the very first NCAA tournament in a set of uniforms that were as sweet as they were unique.

The footage is pretty rough but in itself remarkable. Don't expect to get the world's greatest glimpse of Oregon's uniforms. But do expect to see a slice of history that tells its own story in so many ways. Not least of which is the total absence of any non-white players. 

Marquette

The Golden Eagles have an interesting, consistent yet diverse set of Jordan brand uniforms these days. Solid color choice with a striped pattern on the side. They stand out in four colorful sets: 

Navy, gold, light blue, and white. All of them see action in rotation throughout the season. 

Michigan’s maize

Another iconic uniform, the colours play off each other extremely well and are nicely enhanced by the trim. A classic look from the Jordan brand. Just a great design all the way around.

We're rather fond of the simple navy vest in the YouTube video too!

Final thoughts

School colours and uniforms in college basketball aren't perhaps, at the cutting edge of college basketball news. 

It does little to stir the emotions of some of college basketball's greatest rivalries. But we needed a college hoops fix and an article about the best uniforms in college basketball seemed like a good idea at the time. 
So sue us.

When the fun stops, stop

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