The 25 Hottest Cheerleaders in the 2011 NCAA Tournament

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Cheerleaders are a vital part of the college basketball experience. One of the oldest arguments in college sports is which school has the hottest cheerleaders and fans.  The cheerleaders help each fan section get revved up and help cheer their teams on to victory. Here are a look at the cheerleaders of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

Florida State

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Jenn Sterger isn't the only hot cheerleader for FSU. Four Seminoles scored in double figures as the Seminoles shocked Notre Dame to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 1993.

Kansas

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Kansas hopes to live up to its number one seed. Things set up nicely for KU a year after suffering a demoralizing loss to Northern Iowa in the second round. The Jayhawks are the only single digit seed remaining in the Southwest Region They will play 12 seed Richmond in the Regional Semis and if they win, the winner of 10 Seed Florida State and 11 Seed Virginia Commonwealth in the Regional Final. Led by the Morris twins, KU will try to advance to their first Final Four since they won it all in 2008.

Kansas

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Bill Self has a 236-45 in his eight seasons at Kansas.  The Jayhawks have one National Championship in that span. He has a 17-6 NCAA Tournament record at Kansas. This is their fifth Sweet 16 Appearance under Self. Two first round losses in 2005 and 2006 and the second round loss last year have left many Jawhawk faithful frustrated. Jayhawk rivals have taken to calling KU Rock Choke Jayhawk, instead of Rock Chalk.

Penn State

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Penn State lost a heart breaker in the first game to intrastate rival Temple. The Owls' Juan Fernandez hit duck and under jumper with .4 seconds remaining to give Temple its first NCAA Tournament win in ten years and head coach Fran Dunphy his first win since 2001.

Florida

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 Billy Donovan has the Gators in the Sweet 16 for the first time since they won back to back titles in 2007.

Ohio State

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The Buckeyes have the top ranked team and number one overall seed.  They also have gorgeous cheerleaders to motivate them. 

George Mason

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George Mason's dream of a run like their 2006 run to the Final Four ended with a thud in a 98-66 loss to top ranked and the tournament's top overall seed Ohio State.

Kansas

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KU defeated Bill Self's former employer, Illinois in the third round. Strangely enough, the Illini defeated another one of their former coaches, Lon Kruger and UNLV in the second round.

UNLV

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Although they fell to Illinois in the first round, Lon Kruger has brought back respectability to UNLV basketball. The Rebels have been invited to four of the last five NCAA Tournaments. Prior to that, they had only two appearances in 15 years. 

Florida

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Billy Donovan has the Gators in their best position to get to a Final Four since they won back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007.

San Diego State

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The Dance team at San Diego has helped the Aztecs have their best season in school history. Before this season, SDSU was 0 for the NCAA in six appearances. Steve Fisher is making his first appearance in the Sweet 16 since he led Michigan to three consecutive Elite Eight appearances from 1992-94. 

Arizona

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Sean Miller has done an amazing job getting the Wildcats back to among the nation's elite quickly. Derrick Williams is likely to be a lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft and should be a first team All-American.

Michigan State

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Although Michigan State lost to UCLA, they should a lot of fight in nearly coming back from 20 points down.

Arizona

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After missing the tournament in 2009, Arizona has now earned a bid in 26 of the last 27 NCAA Tournaments.

USC

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Better known for football, Kevin O'Neill and his predecessor Tim Floyd have done their best to turn around the basketball fortunes at 'SC.

Arizona

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After winning their first two games by a total of three points, Arizona has earned the nickname of cardiac cats. Sophomore big man Derrick Williams made superstar plays in the wins over Memphis and Texas. Although he is likely headed to the NBA as a lottery pick, Williams will go down as one of the greatest players in school history in just two seasons. 

UCLA

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Ben Howland and UCLA bounced back from a sub .500 season to return to the dance.

Kentucky

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After losing six players to the NBA Draft in 2010, John Calipari had the replace the majority of his rotation. The Wildcats are 27-8 and have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row. Calipari has a 62-11 record in two years in Lexington. The fans in Lexington are the most demanding in College Basketball through. If they go another couple of years without a Final Four, they might request Cal's ouster.

Texas

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Despite great regular season success, Texas failed to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive year..

West Virginia

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After knocking out Kentucky in last year's Elite Eight, the Wildcats returned the favor in the third round this year. The Mountaineers will unable to hold on to an eight point halftime lead. It was their first Final Four since Jerry West led them to College Basketball's Holy Grail in 1959. 

Arkansas-Little Rock

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Arkansas-Little Rock only made it as far as the first four in Dayton. They were unable to hold onto a double digit lead. It was the Trojans first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1990. Their moment in the sun came with a first round upset of Notre Dame in 1986

Texas A&M

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The Aggies were outscored by ten in the second half as they were ousted by Florida State. Mark Turgeon has helped rebuild he basketball program in college station. After Billy Gillespie became the first coach to lead the Aggies to back to back NCAA Tournaments, Turgeon has continued the success with four consecutive trips for six total. Before the run of six straight, the Aggies only had six total NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Pittsburgh

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Pittsburgh fans had to suffer through a heartbreaking loss in the Superbowl. The Panther faithful might not be able to take another NCAA Tournament run ending before expectations. They have advanced as far as the Sweet 16 five times in the last ten years, but not been able to get to the Final Four. After another disappointing ending to the season, it might be preferable for Pitt fans to watch the game upside down.

Florida State

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Florida State won its first NCAA Tournament game since 1998 by defeating Texas A&M Friday. They followed that up by defeating Notre Dame to advance to their first Sweet 16 since making in in back-to-back in 1992 and 1993.

Florida

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Florida will seek to avenge their 99-92 double overtime loss to BYU in last year's first round. The Cougars Jimmer Fredette scored 37 against the Gators last season. Both teams are vastly improved over 2010. Will we see another classic?