Before each season, the managers for the U.C.L.A. men’s basketball team do not compile reports on opposing players or strategies. Instead, they are responsible for figuring out the brand of basketball used by the Bruins’ opponents.

The N.C.A.A. does not require the use of a specific brand of basketball during the regular season. The home team plays with its preferred type, whether it is Nike or Spalding or Adidas. The choice is often tied to the team’s equipment contract. Because each brand has a distinct feel, it is just another reason it is hard to play on the road in college basketball.

“It is funny that we don’t use the same ball everywhere we go,” said Scott Garson, an assistant at U.C.L.A. “You’ve got enough things to fight on the road; the last thing you need to fight is the ball.”

This lack of uniformity makes college basketball unlike other major American sports. In the professional ranks, the N.B.A. has an official basketball (Spalding), the N.F.L. an official football (Wilson) and Major League Baseball an official baseball (Rawlings). In college football, each offense uses its own footballs, meaning there is no comparable level of unfamiliarity when, for instance, Ohio State plays at Michigan.