#36/341 - Florida State Seminoles

Florida State was probably one of my first sports villains. Their great football teams of the 90's continually thrashing my Terps at every opportunity. So I took a bit of joy at the Terrapins brief superiority on the hardwood. This past year was Maryland's last in the ACC, which coincided with the Seminoles return to prominence in football. I don't recall much of their last conference game with my Terps but I think the final score was 72,000-0. In a final bit of cruelty, Maryland's last game as a member of the ACC was the conference tournament and an excruciating buzzer beater loss... to Florida State. Thanks Seminoles, we're parting ways as I always remembered you, the proverbial villains.

#35/341 - Saint Joseph's Hawks

Back to my hometown of Philadelphia for the 2nd team from the Big 5, the Saint Joseph's Hawks. I'll admit that growing up more attention was paid to Villanova and especially Temple, Saint Joseph's and La Salle were sort of afterthoughts. I was going to talk about the Hawks' 2004 season and memories of Jameer Nelson, going undefeated in the regular season, and a painful loss in the Elite 8.

Instead I'll say this, a few weeks ago UConn won the national title. If you didn't watch their first round game you wouldn't know that Saint Joseph's was in control for most of it and had them on the ropes with a few minutes left.

#34/341 - St. John's Red Storm

Another nice ebay pickup here with St. John's. I don't think there's much I could say about them. The only thing that comes to mind is those Big East tournaments. They were the "home team" and always play in the early round so I have that memory. Oh and I had to wikipedia their team name because I think they used to have one that was offensive to Native Americans.

#33/341 - West Virginia Mountaineers

Ah West Virginia. Despite its relative proximity I've never been. Like a myth or another country, all I know is the stories and stereotypes. Aside from the negative ones, the Mountaineers conjure images of 7-foot bearded white guys draining 3-pointers they probably shouldn't be taking. Geographically speaking the Big East always seemed like an odd fit for them, hopefully they can find more success in the Big 12.

#32/341 - Texas-Arlington Mavericks

Keeping with the theme of learning processes and lessons I never thought I'd encounter, here is the Texas-Arlington Mavericks. It's an XL jersey which is right in my wheelhouse but it's a women's jersey. That means it's a bit snug but it serves as a goal for the future. I want to fit into this so it's almost ironic that a platitude found more often in women is brought on by a women's jersey.

#31/341 - Kansas Jayhawks

Another out-of-date-but-I-love-it anyway jersey. Kansas is a rare case of a college basketball superpower that I almost feel bad for. In a discussion of the best teams over the last 20 years their name would be right there with anyone and yet they have very little to show for it. Year after year they have basketball elites on the floor and yet they never seem to make it out of the first weekend of the tournament. If it isn't a Northern Iowa or Stanford torpedoing their 1-seed, it's another perennial power they just can't seem to get past.

Kansas fans had to feel like Atlas casting off the greatest of weights when they finally got over the hump and beat Memphis in a thrilling title game. Of course Memphis is arguably the 2nd-tier of the same dilemma.

#30/341 - Indiana Hoosiers

Ah the Indiana Hoosiers. When the Maryland Terrapins defeated them to win their championship it extinguished a lifelong personal torment of sports failures and heartbreak. I remember that Hoosier team making an absurd amount of 3-point shots in that tournament. I also remember them upsetting Duke in the 2nd round. That made the title feel slightly bittersweet. Yes the Terrapins were finally on the mountaintop. But it didn't feel right to not go through Duke to get there. Beating the team that fell them would always have to be good enough. I sure am doing a good job of not talking about Indiana then eh?

#29/341 - Austin Peay Governors

Here's yet another new classification for problems with CBBJQ. Buying a jersey even though it's too small because the price is right. I'm willing to make some wiggle room if it's a little tight but this thing is unwearable (and terribly out of date). This is a mistake I will make again and again. So to summarize, do I have an Austin Peay jersey? Yes. Can I wear it? No.

STATUS: NEEDS TO BE REPLACED

#28/341 - Villanova Wildcats

Born (but not raised) in West Philadelphia, college basketball is a tricky sport to navigate. This is the first jersey acquired from a member of the Big 5. La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple, & Villanova all call Philadelphia home. The amazing thing is the sense of comradery among fans. When they play each other the true colors bleed through but in any other game you just root for the Philly team. In fact at the FGCU game mentioned in the first post, I can remember that somewhere far away Villanova was playing North Carolina. Philly fans were checking their phones or going to the bar to watch the ending. Fuming obscenities and spilling beer as a Nova turnover clinched it for UNC.

Philly. Represent.

#27/341 - Morgan State Bears

Another beautiful jersey and my 2nd out of the MEAC conference. The Morgan State Bears play out of my backyard in Baltimore,MD but this was another ebay score. So it's nice to be able to sport a little local street cred when I visit charm city to see Clutch or visit family.

#26/341 - Missouri Tigers

This jersey presented another problem I hadn't expected, having people stop you on the street because you're representing their alma mater hundreds of miles its location. I mean how do you explain to someone that you aren't from there, you didn't go to school there, and you aren't even a fan. You're just some lunatic who collects college basketball jerseys.

I genuinely miss seeing Missouri in the Big 12. Their move to the SEC came just as their rivalry with Kansas was starting to heat up.

#25/341 - Virginia Cavaliers

This gorgeous jersey gets filed under, "problems I never thought I'd encounter." I got this for a reasonable price off ebay, and you never expect to worry about having the name of a controversial figure on your back. This jersey has the name "Farrakhan" on the back. I can only assume that name means different things to many people. So... there's that.

#24/341 - Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame is one of these teams who just feels like a 1st-round upset waiting to happen. They've had some good teams over the last decade but for the life of me I can't recall any measure of success.

I like this sort-of-out-of-date jersey. In fact I much prefer it to the high-liter ones they've been sporting.

#23/341 - Cincinnati Bearcats

Like Maryland, this jersey is out of date but in a way I admire. Cincinnati has been on a turbulent journey since my love for the game began. I remember them and Memphis dominating Conference USA before moving to the Big East. They immediately fell right into the warzone and helped shape some of the better years for the conference. They are now in the AAC which, while decidedly smaller, is shaping up to be a premier conference for years to come.

#22/341 - Akron Zips

I really like the "Zips" patch on the shoulder. This would be a perfect jersey if not for the fading. It's not seen in the picture but I had to do some repair work on the numbers with white out. So this is a nice jersey that unfortunately needs to be replaced.

STATUS: NEEDS TO BE REPLACED

#21/341 - Marquette Golden Eagles

Another case of incredible generosity, reddit user u/I_Am_Okonkwo sent me this jersey and it is utterly fantastic. Not pictured is his last name, Okonkwo, which I had to get sewn onto the back as part of the deal. Ah, crazy internet kids and their bets.

Marquette has had some good teams over the last few years but this past season they seemed to have fallen off the face of the earth. Wonder what happened there.

#20/341 - Arizona Wildcats

For me, Arizona exemplifies the term "west coast bias." They are consistently good, year after year, and yet east coast fans never really see it coming. Apart from that I'm not sure what I can say about the team or this jersey. They're both just good, very good, and apparently leave me at a loss for words.

#19/341 - Pepperdine Waves

This was the first case in which I stepped out of my $20 cap for a jersey I just "had to have." Rationalizing is a funny thing when you're watching the seconds tick down on an ebay auction. Overall I'm pretty happy with this. It's the first jersey that has that game-issued feel. It has this stretchy, multi-layered thing that actually feels like something you would wear while working up a sweat.

#18/341 - North Carolina Tar Heels

There's never been a shortage of UNC fans in my life. That coupled with their Duke rivalry and they're like a friendly ally. I have a theory that the Tar Heels are the move beloved college basketball team in the country because they serve as the good guys to Duke's villain. Twice a year they face off and regardless of the relevance to the national picture it would be the most important games of the season. Basketball fans glued to their sets watching two heavyweight exchange blows. I can remember years where one team was highly ranked and the other could barely tie their shoes, but you wouldn't know which one was which when they stepped on the same floor. They always played their best against each other. And on those nights in January, the fans fell into two categories, Duke fans, and everyone else. From Chapel Hill to Chickaloon, we all bleed Tar Heel blue on those nights.

#17/341 - Cleveland State Vikings

Another decent eBay score (<$10) here with Cleveland State out of the Horizon League. Hailing from America's capital of athletic disappointment, the Vikings have a surprising history of over-achieving. I remember them for a buzzer-beating upset of Syracuse a few years back. The following year they thoroughly dismantled Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA's as a 13-seed. I also seem to remember a hideous mascot that had a basketball for a head.

#16/341 - Florida Atlantic Owls

When I set out on this quest with a cap of $20/jersey, I hadn't considered the possibility that I would end up wearing another person's dreams on my back. I won this Florida Atlantic basketball jersey on ebay for $19. What struck me immediately was the name on the back (not pictured). Secondly, the black box that says 'WT.' It looks like a memorial patch. I've done a little research and concluded that this jersey belonged to Eric Lawson, who played for the Owls from 1997-1999. That makes this my first game-used or at least issued jersey. Somehow this found its way into the secondhand market and into my hands. I wasn't able to find anything out about who 'WT' was that's being memorialized. If anyone knows about it or the whereabouts of Mr. Lawson, I'd be delighted to know.

#15/341 - Florida A&M Rattlers

Early in this quest for jersey completion-ism, I made the mistake of winning this jersey cheaply on ebay. While it is incredibly colorful, albeit a bit gaudy, it is not an official Florida A&M jersey. You will find this style of basketball jersey for every predominantly black school in the Mid-Eastern Athletic and Southwestern Athletic Conferences. So consider this post a warning to any jersey shoppers out there. If you see the brand name "Coliseum," stay away. If anyone at Florida A&M would like to help me replace this, it would be welcomed.

 My only memory of Florida A&M basketball was a soul-crushing buzzer beater in a MEAC championship that kept the Delaware State Hornets from the NCAA tournament.

STATUS OF  JERSEY: Needs replacing

#14/341 - Stanford Cardinal

The Stanford Cardinal. I'll never understand why the Cardinal is singular or why their mascot is a tree or whether they're somehow related. Nice looking jersey and I have nothing against the team or school, but when I think of them the first thing that comes to mind is when Maryland beat them in the Elite 8.

It was the first time in my life one of MY teams, from any sport, made me feel like a winner. Up until that moment I had a lifelong history of sports that was akin to Job. I won't go into too much detail, but it involved the '86 Red Sox, the 1990-93 Buffalo Bills, and the city of Philadelphia. So for that elation, that burden being lifted, thank you Stanford. It meant the world to me.

#13/341 - Bucknell Bison

In the context of Jersey-Quest, this is everything that defines the word, "score." Obscure college? Former Cinderella? Gorgeous jersey? Reasonable price? They're all there. The Bucknell Bison hail from Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and play out of the Patriot League. You may remember them from their 2005 upset of a three-seeded Kansas team. They consistently put quality teams on the floor and are usually sniffing the NCAA tournament. This is easily one of my favorites.

#12/341 - Pittsburgh Panthers

This jersey was a steal at $5 on eBay. It also serves as a painful reminder of what has been lost with conference realignment. Frankly I like the 'Big East' logo above the school name. It reminds me of the times watching the Big East tournament. Those battles between Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Georgetown were my indoctrination into the sport.

Oh and the new number is 341 because I decided there's no reason the New Jersey Institute of Technology shouldn't have a home with the rest of Division 1.

#11/340 - Tennessee State Tigers

This is one of those jerseys that is just deliciously out of date but I love it anyway. The Tennessee State Tigers out of the Ohio Valley Conference don't even have red in their color scheme anymore. But I love the pattern on the trim, the American flag. I probably prefer this style to the one they're currently wearing. I think I paid just a few dollars for this on ebay.

#10/340 - Oklahoma Sooners

After the FGCU/Georgetown game on that fateful night, we cheered and celebrated the history just witnessed. Then slowly, we collected ourselves settled in for the nightcap. The 10-seed Oklahoma Sooners were set to battle the 7-seed San Diego Aztecs. But after the blitzkrieg that was the formation of Dunk City, there was simply no energy left in the building. For two hours we watched San Diego State take down Oklahoma in a damn near silent arena. It was the most vanilla thing I'd ever seen outside the dairy aisle.

That perfectly exemplifies this jersey. I mean look at it! It practically blends into the cheap red Ikea rug I placed it on. I really like this jersey for how officially understated it looks. That's Oklahoma basketball in a nut shell. As of this writing they're coming off a 5-seed in the NCAA tournament and a 1st round loss to 12-seed North Dakota State. Another year, another tournament appearance they just barely showed up for. Just like this jersey barely showing up on the rug.

#9/340 - Montana State Bobcats

This was another of a great university that was very accommodating. Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana was nice enough to sell me a basketball jersey for just $20. They go on my short list of schools I cheer for due to their generosity. This jersey is what the quest is all about. A state I've never been to, an obscure team from an obscure conference. I love it.

#8/340 - Air Force Falcons

There is no other word in the English language to describe this jersey other than fabulous. A beautiful juxtaposition of military might and drag queen prowess, I picked this jersey up cheaply on ebay. It works for an afternoon on the court or an evening of cocktails under the Holland Tunnel. The Air Force Falcons play out of Colorado Springs, CO and are my first foray into the Mountain West Conference.