Uniform March Madness: AAC Region Round 2

Round 2 for the AAC Region is here! After a few close finishes and a blowout, the AAC is well on their way. Tulane fell behind early against SMU, but pulled off the upset with a wave of votes at the end. Memphis stormed out to an early lead and never looked back, as the Tigers caged the Huskies. UCF and Cincinnati went back and forth, but in the end the Knights conquered the Bearcats. Lastly the Pirates raided their matchup against the Cougars as ECU proved that their purple and gold can compete with anyone in the conference.

Four new matchups await in the second round, and the winners will find themselves in the Sweet Sixteen. Temple, Navy, South Florida, and Tulsa all received first round byes, but will their uniforms hold up against their opponents?

If you can’t see the bracket, click here, and if you can’t see the poll, click here.

#1 Temple Owls vs #9 Tulane Green Wave

TEMPLE

COLORS: Cherry, white

BRAND: Under Armour

SUMMARY: The combinations switched frequently, but the colors did not. Cherry and white were the color schemes ever week, but did throw a wrinkle in with some black uppers early in the season. A big changeup was the all black setup against Memphis.

TULANE

COLORS: Sky Blue, Olive

BRAND: Nike

SUMMARY: Tulane rode the wave into the second round, and their unique colors are to thank. After beating #8 SMU 41-36 in the first round, the Green Wave are searching for another upset. Different combinations of sky blue, green, white and dark grey give them a unique look on the field. Will their distinctive look get them to the Sweet Sixteen?

#4 Tulsa Golden Hurricane vs #5 Memphis Tigers

TULSA

COLORS: Royal blue, crimson, gold

BRAND: Adidas

SUMMARY: Uniforms focused on royal blue, gold and white, with crimson hints within the uniform. Black and chrome gold helmets were incorporated, and turned some heads. Tulsa switched up the color schemes even when they didn’t have different patterns on the jerseys or logos on their helmets.

MEMPHIS

COLORS: Blue, Gray

BRAND: Nike

SUMMARY: Memphis mauled #12 UConn from the beginning in votes, and the Tigers finished with a 68-10 win. Using blue, black, and white isn’t what makes their uniforms special, it’s the designs. Striped patterns are exhibited on the Tigers’ helmets, jerseys and pants, but that pattern also isn’t overused. Simple setups are utilized as well, and the result is always clean. Combinations of chrome and matte helmets along with chrome decals and facemasks help keep the Tigers atop the uniform world.

#2 Navy Midshipmen vs #7 UCF Knights

NAVY

COLORS: Navy blue, gold

BRAND: Under Armour

SUMMARY: Navy is about a bland as you get. One home uniform. One away uniform. The setup is always clean as expected, and nothing changes. That is, until they play Army. Those uniforms alone could change your perception of Navy’s “style” and this year’s setup was eye catching.

UCF

COLORS: Black, Gold

BRAND: Nike

SUMMARY: A tough first matchup against #10 Cincinnati had the Knights defending their honor, but their simplistic yet trendy approach helped them win 45-36. While their colors don’t allow for much diversity, UCF mixes black, white, gray, and gold extremely well. The gold contrasts the other three colors well, and the Knights’ setup keeps them fresh on the field.

#3 USF Bulls vs #11 ECU Pirates

USF

COLORS: Green, gold

BRAND: Under Armour

SUMMARY: Chrome helmets, chrome logos, neon colors. If there was a team that appealed to the younger generation, it was the Bulls. The Bulls’ uniforms didn’t seem to change base colors too much, but definitely switched up little details quite frequently (neon and pink highlights, chrome decals and facemasks).

ECU

COLORS: Purple, gold

BRAND: Adidas

SUMMARY: Uniqueness aided the Pirates in their upset over #6 Houston, but maybe being more simple will help them this round. While purple and gold may not be the most basic combo, their opponent utilizes green and gold. ECU’s matchup against the Bulls may come down to which uniforms the fans think have a cleaner look.