If Duke and Kentucky meet in college basketball’s national championship game, will you root for Pantone 286 or Pantone 287?

The official color for each school is blue. But there is a difference, however slight.

Describing and defining shades of blue may feel like a vague concept, but in fact colors can be precisely classified by the Pantone Matching System. The method, developed by a company based in Carlstadt, N.J., is used by printers, designers and others to ensure consistency of color. It categorizes about 2,000 shades.

Kentucky’s official blue, above right, is a slightly tweaked version of Pantone 286, said Craig Hornberger, director of multimedia of the athletic department.

Kentucky’s 16-page Official Graphics Standards Manual admonishes, “To maintain consistent color matching, the U.K. logos and signatures must be printed” in that color.