Okay, I lied. I got one more Kicks Analysis for March Madness. Here’s a visual representation of the brackets and shoe sponsorships.
No wonder an Adidas-sponsored team came out of the Oakland bracket.
Can’t promise that I won’t have any other Kicks Analyses. 😉
Ooops! I forgot to add Reebok to the legend. Reebok teams are orange.
With March Madness officially over, here’s a wrap up of this year’s Kicks Analyses.
Of the 63 victories in the entire tournament, teams wearing Nike shoes won 46 games, a whopping 73% of the wins. Adidas came in second with 15 wins, or 24%. Reebok was a distant third with 2 wins good for 3% of the victories. And1 and New Balance were shut out this year.
Until next year…
The recent trend of NCAA March Madness Tournament winners wearing Nike shoes continues with Florida’s victory over UCLA. Since 2000, teams wearing Nike have now taken 6 of the last 7 championships.
Would it have mattered if UCLA were wearing these?
Teams wearing Nike may be a consideration when picking brackets next year.
It doesn’t get any easier than this, UCLA and Adidas going against Florida and Nike. One game, one winner. The three-stripes against the Swoosh.
Kobe the rookie versus Kobe the veteran. TMac, KG, TD, Gilbert Arenas, and Antawn Jamison versus MJ, Lebron, Amare, Carmelo, and Vince Carter.
Can Adidas buck the recent trend of Nike-wearing teams winning the Big Dance?
This year’s March Madness Final Four features the UCLA Bruins, the George Mason Patriots, the LSU Tigers, and the Gators of Florida. Only UCLA is sponsored by Adidas with the other teams represented by Nike.
Nike Air Huarache 2K5, custom ID’ed for Glen “Big Baby” Davis. Nike Air Huararche 64, worn by several George Mason players and many other teams this tournament. Nike Air Force Operate, about two years old but still a favorite. Adidas Crazy 8, Kobe retro shoes before he switched to Nike.
The March Madness Elite 8 teams are set and ready to go one more round this weekend. As divined by the shoes, teams wearing Nike are beginning to dominate the playing field. Reebok-wearing Boston College was eliminated, leaving only Nike and Adidas representation. The two Adidas squads, UCLA and Memphis, are going head-to-head in the Regional Finals, leaving one Adidas team in the Final Four.
Here’s who is left, what they wear, and what conference they belong to.
Can Memphis or UCLA beat recent Nike history?
Which of this year’s Big Dancers have the shoes of champions? Unfortunately, if we go by recent history, Memphis, UCLA, and Boston College have the odds against them winning this year’s NCAA Tournament. Why you ask? Because these teams are wearing the wrong shoes.
Let’s review recent March Madness winners starting from 2000. Mateen Cleaves led Michigan State to the title in 2000 wearing Reebok Answers. In 2001, the talented Duke team of Battier, Duhon, Jay Williams, Boozer, and Dunleavy won wearing Nike. In 2002, Maryland shocked the NCAA Tournament with their Nike Shox Stunners. Carmelo Anthony and the Orange won in 2003 wearing various Nike Shox shoes. In 2004, Nike Lebron Zoom Generation and Air Force Operates were the rage with the UConn Huskies. Last year, the Heels had the hookup with Jordan Brand and Nike shoes. Who can forget their ice blue Retro Jordan X?
So if you’re keeping count, teams wearing Nike have won 5 of the last 6 NCAA Tournaments. Reebok was the only other brand represented since 2000. Yes, Nike sponsors most of the teams making the Big Dance, and of this year’s Sweet 16, 81% of the teams have Nikes, 13% Adidas, 6% Reebok.
Can this title trend change this year? So far, Adidas is going on to the Elite 8.
Before the Sweet 16 games start up, here’s a quick look at what team is wearing what.
With 48 victories so far in this year’s NCAA Tournament, Nike sponsored teams have the clear edge in representation with 35 wins. Adidas is second with 11 wins, and Reebok is holding on with 2 wins by Boston College.
Gone are teams sponsored by And1 and New Balance.
Earlier, I looked at the shoe sponsorships for the teams making the Big Dance. Looking at the teams’ respective conferences, here is a breakdown of shoe sponsorships by conferences playing in this year’s March Madness.
I always wanted to know what shoe companies sponsored the various teams that made it to the NCAA “March Madness” Tournament. Scouring through Yahoo and Getty Images pictures and watching games on TV, I compiled a list of this year’s team kicks.
Nike (not surprisingly) sponsors the most teams, followed by Adidas, then And1 (Penn and Pacific). As far as I could tell, New Balance (Winthrop) and Reebok (Boston College) sponsor one team each while Monmouth didn’t seem to have a sponsorship with players wearing Nike, Adidas, and And1.