Every time we reach a new milestone here at The Sports Bank we like to do an honorary post highlighting some of the reasons we got here. It always has a theme, unlike say, your average cheesy clip show on your favorite sitcom. This time, at 4,000,000 page views, we do the most popular cheerleaders themed stories.

Enjoy the links below in order of page views:

Inside the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Locker Room (PHOTOS!)

Illini Cheerleader Sister is WWE Diva Maria Kanellis (Hot Pics)

The Definitive Collection of Hot Oregon Ducks Cheerleaders Pictures

Bengals Cheerleader Confronts Site Owner For Publishing Sex Rumors (Video)

Dallas Cowboys Tackled Cheerleader Melissa Kellerman: Photos

NFL Cheerleaders in Halloween Costumes Vol. 2 (Photos)

Top NFL Cheerleading Squads (PICTURES!)

NFL Network’s Michelle Beisner: Cheerleaders Really do Become Sideline Reporters (Pictures)

USC Song Girl (Cheerleaders) Bikini Pictures!!!

Oregon Ducks Cheerleaders Gallery Vol 2 (More Bikini Pics)

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in Bikinis Photos

Taylor Corley Leaves Miss St Cheer Squad to Pursue Reality TV Career

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

By far, the best college basketball team in the state of Illinois right now is a program where most of the people involved with the team want to fire the coach. Speaking of the Illini and Bruce Weber of course. That says a lot about the state of college hoops in the Land of Lincoln. The Illini look like the state’s only NCAA Tournament team this season; juxtapose that with Indiana in 2000, when the Crossroads of America got seven teams in the big dance.

These are lean times indeed. Especially in Chicago where UIC (7-16, 3-10 in conference), Loyola (5-18, 0-13), Chicago St. (2-20) and DePaul (11-12, 2-9) have combined to go 25-66, 5-32 in conference. This is beyond pathetic and laughable. For fans to say that college hoops is really down here is a tremendous insult to the direction of down. I didn’t even include CSU’s conference record in there, because I don’t even know what conference they’re in.

But at least I know that their program actually exists, and I know where it is; giving me superior local hoops knowledge than most fans.

“Chicago’s Big Ten Team,” Northwestern may have never been to a NCAA Tournament in their entire history, but this year’s group could play themselves back on the bubble with a winning streak. Even though they’re located in Evanston, you have to include them in the Chicago pool to help augment the city’s winning percentage. They have to be considered the second best team in the state. Universities in this city have been playing terrible ball for many years, but this year truly takes the cake. Then when you combine how ridiculously bad the teams in the rest of the state are, looking at their records becomes one big disgusting glob.

DePaul is in dead last in the Big East. Loyola is dead last in the Horizon League, UIC is only one spot better. And we’re not done yet. Downstate, Bradley, located in Peoria is 1-12 in conference, 6-19 overall is dead last in the Missouri Valley. One spot ahead of them is SIU at 5-8 in league play, 8-16 overall. The Salukis were a fixture in the big dance last decade and even made a couple sweet sixteens. Today Salukis coach Chris Lowery joins Weber in the extremely low job security situation. SIU, like DePaul has some history, so the fact that both have been down for awhile is killing basketball in the state.

The third best team in the state comes from the Mo Valley: Illinois St. who are 15-9, 7-6 in league play. Maybe they can win “Arch Madness,” the league tournament and give the state a second tourney team?

And for completeness of this article I should mention that Northern Illinois is 2-19, Eastern Illinois is 9-14, SIU-Edwardsville is 7-14. But hey Western Illinois is 13-9!

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

The Assembly Hall crowd in Champaign called for Bruce Weber’s head. Illini fans in B Section screamed “pack your bags” and “I can draw up a better offense.” This has gone on for years, except this time there was one major difference- No one in the orange and blue crowd stuck up for Bruce.

And this happened during one of this year’s signature wins, a victory over a top ten Michigan State team. Illini Nation seems to be totally fed up with Weber. He’s about as well liked as point guard Sam Maniscalco, who acts like a black hole in the offense. His field goal and three-point percentages are so low that on those rare occasions he hits a shot, it seems like a miracle has occurred.

Down at courtside on this night you could hear Weber screaming “MOVE MOVE MOVE!” Because there’s just no motion in his motion offense; a system that has produced only a .500 record in conference since the Champaign Campaign national runner-up year of 2005.  And Mansicalco is a big example of what’s wrong with Weber’s decision making: giving more playing time to grindy, hustle players instead of the talented ones.

And a lot of these players sit the bench because they come off as severe head cases. The senior trio that just graduated: Demetri McCamey, Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis resembled a group that genuinely feared success. The Mikes peaked their sophomore year and McCamey regressed massively in the middle of his senior year. Illini fans found these guys to be head cases, and some of what Weber would say in press conferences conformed to this script. The team itself fell way short of preseason expectations, and that killed Weber’s popularity.

The original knock on Weber was that he couldn’t recruit, but with time he got Jerrance Howard working for him on that front and Weber landed a few high profile prospects…who flamed out. Three top flight recruits: Alex Legion, Jereme Richmond, and Crandall Head, stayed for barely a season, if that. And their time on campus produced little to nothing. In Weber’s defense, Legion changed schools like 47 times during the wasted potential that was his joke of a college career.

Richmond, the only McDonald’s All-American recruited in Weber’s 8 years at Illinois turned out to be a psychopath/sociopath. And Head’s stats from his Illini career were so substandard, he made us forget that he was a top 100 national recruit/brother of Luther Head. These trends make you have to ask- why aren’t you recruiting better, more well-adjusted prospects with fewer mental and academic issues? Maybe the problem is with Weber? Maybe certain players with egos just can’t fit his system?

Illinois is among the top 15 all time in McDonald’s All-American recruits, and the state’s high schools are top ten all time in producing them.  Yet it looks certain that Weber will not land any more of them nor improve his poor record in recruiting the Chicago Public League’s top tier prospects. This is just unacceptable.

An excerpt from a must read column by Herb Gould of the Chicago Sun-Times

The clamor for change is apparent Downstate, where Illinois has had only one sellout, and in Chicago, where serious boosters and other alumni have been restless for quite a while. Mix in the Illini’s checkered record the last six seasons, and the case for change is apparent.

Weber got off to a marvelous start in Champaign, riding the Deron Williams-Dee Brown-James Augustine era to eight NCAA tournament victories, including a Final Four; two Big Ten championships; and an 89-16 record, including 39-9 in the Big Ten.

In the five-plus seasons since Brown and Augustine left, Illinois has won one NCAA tournament game, missed the tournament twice, finished higher than fourth in the Big Ten only once and compiled a 120-77 record, including 48-48 in the Big Ten.

For a school with the Illini’s proud basketball tradition, that’s not hitting the mark. That 48-48 conference record is especially telling in light of athletic director Mike Thomas’ reference to competing for Big Ten titles when he fired Zook.

It’s true, mediocrity is tolerated for college football in Champaign; because the only real tradition with the program is from the Red Grange era, and slightly before. There’s been quite a few lean decades in there. In college basketball, this type of behavior is not tolerated at UI. And the fact that when Weber does win, it’s in such an ugly fashion that he makes no friends with his results. The 42-41 win over Michigan State was the fewest points scored in an Illini win since 1946. Dude, that’s a long time ago!

The fact that I’ve written a column on how much this team has in common with the 1998-99 team, which set a school record for single season losses (since broken on Weber’s watch in 2008), is alarming. And now you can add the rare home loss to their usual subordinate Northwestern to the list of similarities between the two teams. And this hard-to-watch basketball has hurt attendance. The Illini are 4th in the league in this category, but they’ve only sold out one game all year. I’m sure the A.D. doesn’t like that stat.

But check out that first comment on that “play offense like it’s 1999″ piece. I can’t quote it directly because I’m not going to speculate on the position of the board of trustees unless it was on the record. But the commenter “U of I” accurately reflects the rumors and anti-Weber sentiment I keep hearing from numerous sources. His numbers are worth a look too. We can’t say for certain if/when Weber will be replaced, but we can safely assume this- money will not be any object if the board decides that’s the way it wants to go.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

It is kind of hard to believe that Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament is only five weeks away.  It is becoming time when college basketball teams are separating themselves as either tourney contenders or pretenders.  Here is The Sports Bank‘s latest Bracketology?  I have more than held my own the past couple of years against ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and with my extreme college hoops nerdom, plan to do so again this year.  Check back every week for an update.

UPDATED: 2/6/12

SOUTH REGIONAL-Atlanta

AT LOUISVILLE
1. Kentucky 23-1 (SEC)
16. UNC-Asheville 18-7 (Big South)/Mississippi Valley State 11-11 (SWAC)

8. Notre Dame 15-8 (BE)
9. Illinois 16-7 (B10)

AT PORTLAND
5. San Diego State 20-3 (MWC)
12. VCU 20-5 (CAA)/N.C. State 17-7 (ACC)

4. St. Mary’s 22-2 (WCC)
13. Nevada 19-4 (WAC)

AT  OMAHA
6. Mississippi State 18-5 (SEC)
11. California 18-6 (P12)

3. Kansas 18-5 (B12)
14. Oral Roberts 21-5 (Summit)

AT COLUMBUS
7.  Virginia 18-4 (ACC)
10. Kansas State 16-6 (B12)

2. Michigan State 18-5 (B10)
15. Akron 16-7 (MAC)

MIDWEST REGIONAL- St.Louis

AT LOUISVILLE
1. Ohio State 20-3 (B10)
16. Norfolk State 16-8 (MEAC)

8. Wichita State 20-4 (MVC)
9. New Mexico 19-4 (MWC)

AT COLUMBUS
5. Louisville 18-5 (BE)
12. Miami FL 14-7 (ACC)

4. Murray State 23-0 (OVC)
13. Middle Tennessee 21-4 (Sun Belt)

AT PITTSBURGH
6. Indiana 18-6 (B10)
11. BYU 20-6 (WCC)

3. Marquette 19-5 (BE)
14. George Mason 19-6 (CAA)

AT OMAHA
7. Vanderbilt 16-7 (SEC)
10. Memphis 16-7 (CUSA)

2. Missouri 21-2 (B12)
15. Belmont 17-7 (A-Sun)

EAST REGIONAL-Boston        

AT PITTSBURGH
1. Syracuse 23-1 (BE)
16. Long Island 17-7 (NEC)/Stony Brook 15-7 (AEC)

8. Temple 17-5 (A10)
9. Harvard 20-2 (Ivy)

AT ALBUQUERQUE
5. Creighton 21-3 (MVC)
12. Minnesota 17-7 (B10)

4. Florida State 16-6 (ACC)
13. Long Beach State 17-6 (Big West)

AT NASHVILLE
6. Southern Miss 20-3 (CUSA)
11. Cincinnati 16-7 (BE)

3. Florida 19-4 (SEC)
14. Cleveland State 20-4 (Horizon)

AT GREENSBORO
7. UConn 15-7 (BE)
10. Iowa State 17-6 (B12)

2. Duke 19-4 (ACC)
15. Bucknell 18-6 (Patroit)

WEST REGIONAL-Phoenix

AT GREENSBORO
1. North Carolina 20-3 (ACC)
16. UT-Arlington 17-5 (Southland)

8. West Virginia 16-8 (BE)
9. Alabama 15-7 (SEC)

AT PORTLAND
5. Wisconsin 18-6 (B10)
12. Seton Hall 15-8 (BE)/Xavier 15-8 (A10)

4. UNLV 21-4 (MWC)
13. Iona 19-5 (MAAC)

AT NASHVILLE
6. Michigan 17-7 (B10)
11. Washington 16-7 (P12)

3. Georgetown 18-4 (BE)
14. Davidson 17-5 (Southern)

AT ALBUQUERQUE
7. Gonzaga 18-4 (WCC)
10. St. Louis 18-5 (A10)

2. Baylor 21-1 (B12)
15. Weber State 18-4 (Big Sky)

Wrong Side of the Bubble:
Purdue 15-8 (B10)
Oregon 16-7 (P12)
Colorado 16-7 (P12)
Central Florida 17-6 (CUSA)
Arkansas 16-7 (SEC)
UMass 17-6 (A10)
Arizona 16-8 (P12)
Ohio 19-4 (MAC)

Multiple Bid Conferences:
Big East (9)
Big Ten (7)
ACC (6)
Big 12 (5)
SEC (5)
A10 (3)
MWC (3)
WCC (3)
CAA (2)
CUSA (2)
MVC (2)
Pac-12 (2)

Click here for a list of RPI and SOS

David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank.  He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities.  David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu.  He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.

You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.

WCC (3)
CAA (2)
CUSA (2)
MVC (2)
Pac-12 (2)

Bruce Weber has his 2011-12 Fighting Illini in real good shape to make the NCAA Tournament, with his third big, signature win coming just the other night over Michigan State. Yet he’s on both the hot seat and the bad side of Illini Nation. (Much more on this in a quickly upcoming post) Why?

Style points. Illini basketball is “sexy” alright, sexy as Camryn Manheim or Kathy Bates.

Their 42-41 win over MSU was the fewest points the program has scored in a win since 1946! Even though this teams look destined to hit Black Jack (21 wins) when the regular season ends, they still have an alarming amount of similarities to the 1998-99 team coached by Lon Kruger that set the school record for losses by going 14-18.

Weber’s 2008 team broke that dubious record by finishing 16-19 (yet another reason the Orange Nation is gathering pitchforks and torches right now).

Similarly wretched offense

This is what’s most noticeable and obvious in comparing the two teams. The current Illini are 9th in the league in scoring, 8th in field goal percentage, and dead last in three-point shooting. In fact, other than Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson, who would even bother guarding behind the arc? Seriously, who? Point guard A. Tracy Abrams has 5 3-pt field goals made on the season, POint guard B. Sam Maniscalco is shotting 25% FG, 13% 3-pt in conference play.

I said in my game recap story from the season opener that this team will really struggle with perimeter scoring this season. It’s been even worse than I thought.

Most games are very close, with plenty of scores in the 20s at halftime.

So much for helping the national reputation of Big Ten basketball with scores in conference play looking like this: 57-56, 59-54, 52-54, 42-41, And we’re only halfway through the conference season. Expect a few more 24-22 type halftime scores this year, just like the ones produced by that lovely team from my junior year at school in Champaign.

In our latest NCAA Tournament projection, we have the Illini as a #9 seed in the South Regional. Since February is pretty much here- time to think about who needs to shore up the old resume for selection time come March.

At 16-6, 5-4 in conference, RPI 37, SoS 26 and 5-4 and vs the RPI top 50 their profile looks very solid, but not extraordinary. Including that BAD loss at Penn State (WTF is up with that? Seriously, a top notch program like Illinois being dominated in recent years by a program which has like 15 whole fans?).

Half their wins look hideous on paper but that doesn’t really matter. This isn’t based on the polls which can be influenced by margin of victory.

“I don’t care if it’s ugly, when the shots go up I just sit there and say, please God let them go in,” Illini Coach Bruce Weber said after the big win over Michigan State.

“Maybe that’s just how it is and hopefully we’ll get better. I don’t know if we’ll play against a better defensive team (all year). When you look at their stats, they hold people to 39%, and we didn’t get that. We got 32,” Weber continued.

Seriously, the offense looks BAD, like 1999 Nate Mast running point guard bad right now. Actually, Sam Maniscalco’s current level of play might make Illini fans clamor for Mast.

The Illini resume has a lot of strength though. They have three signature victories: #3 Ohio State, #24 Gonzaga (RPI 18) and last night’s aforementioned win over #9 Michigan State. They have seven wins against the RPI top 100.

The losses to #4 Mizzou and #11 UNLV (RPI 8) don’t hurt, because both look like they’ll be seeded near the top of the line come tourney time. And with two chances versus Michigan, and another with Ohio State, not to mention a trip to Indiana remaining on the schedule, more opportunities will come. You gotta think they’ll obtain at least one more signature win before we hit conference tournament time.

Even when they suffer embarrassing losses. The road defeat to Minnesota wasn’t bad, it’s just that they gave, and my “they” I’m really just talking about Meyers Leonard fouling in the final seconds to give the Gophers an “and 1″ which essentially blew the entire game.

But they responded nicely, halting the losing streak.

“I’ve heard (New England Patriots Coach Bill) Belichick talk about this, it’s not the loss, it’s what you do with the loss that kills ya, and people say how can you be positive?

And you have to be, what else can you do? The kids need you, if you bring them down any more, than you’re just hurting yourself.”

It was a hard to watch game, especially at the finish, but Weber and the Illini certainly brought themselves way up Tuesday night on national television.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

Entering tonight’s contest, the Michigan State-Illinois series was tied at 55. The last 13 games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less, and this was no different. And the #9 Michigan State Spartans fell to the Illinois Fighting Illini 42-41.

There was really ugly offense in the first half, by both teams.  A 22-20 score is often the result when one team’s best player shoots 2-8 from the floor, and the other team’s best player sits with foul trouble. D.J. Richardson was pretty much the entire offense for Illinois in the first half, scoring 7 of the team’s 22 points.

McDonald’s All-American, and local Chicago product Branden Dawson had 7 of the Spartans 20 in the first half. He led the Spartans in scoring for the game with 12, on 4-11 shooting.

State was terrible shooting the ball tonight, going just 24% for the field, 21% from the field.

Keith Appling has been one of the Illini main weapons this year, but he had the worst game of his career tonight, going 1-11 from the field and committing five turnovers.

“Pressure, just making him uncomfortable out there, from one end of the court to the other” said Illini point guard Tracy Abrams who hit a huge three down the stretch to tie the game at 40.

The Illini almost gave the game away down the stretch missing two 1 in 1 front ends in the closing seconds and getting badly out rebounded 49-32.

“Kudos goes to us for the rebounding margin, but goes to them for causing 16 turnovers, and both teams shot miserably,” Spartans Coach Tom Izzo

Brandon Paul led the Illini with 18 points, but had an awful 6-17 shooting night.

It was certainly ugly, just like many Illini wins have been this year.

Illini coach Bruce Weber was asked, if the Minnesota game was mud wrestling, then what was this?

“this was WW…whatever the heck that is,” Weber said, referring to the WWE. Earlier, he made light of the game’s ugliness by saying: “maybe we’ll let lose a little bit and get 50.”

Draymond Green, the unquestioned King Leonidas, at least on-the-court, of these Spartans picked up a technical in the first half at 10:56. He got whistled for an offensive foul, his third, and his reaction warranted a T.  Naturally, he sat the remainder of the half.

Green leads the Big Ten in rebounding, and has more double doubles than Jared Sullinger of Ohio State. That truly says something- given how everyone had Sully as the preseason conference player of the year. Green hurt his left leg, and left the game with 3:50 left.

Tonight’s game was Operation Blue Out at the Assembly Hall. Fans were encouraged to wear blue to beat cancer. Operation Blue Out shirts are available online here. Please help support this very worthy cause, as a portion of the proceeds from all sales go to Coaches vs. Cancer.

The Big Ten is having one of the most memorable basketball seasons we’ve seen in some time. The conference leads the country with five top-25 teams and ranks number one in the RPI/Sagarin ratings.

Along with being regarded as the best conference in the nation, the Big Ten is full of intriguing stories. Here are the top five on the year thus far:
1.) Welcome Back Indiana Hoosiers

Not sure anyone, but Head Coach Tom Crean saw this one coming. The Hoosiers are ranked #20th in both polls and have a 17-7 record with wins over big-dawgs Kentucky and Ohio State. Yeah, they may 5-5 in the conference, but not even the Buckeyes are running away with the Big Ten title.

This Hoosiers team is nothing like you’ve seen the past few years, mostly because they can fill up the scoreboard. Just ask the Hawkeyes who yielded 103 points to the Hoosiers in a loss this past weekend. Indiana leads the conference with a robust 79.5 points per game.

2.) Big Ten is the Best Conference in the Country

From top to the bottom, the Big Ten has been the most competitive conference in the nation. Only the Big Ten has six teams with 16 or more wins and nine teams with an RPI in the top 51. Moreover, the Big Ten is the only conference in America to have each and every one of it’s teams ranked in the top 131 in RPI.

This should bode well for the conference come tourney time, meaning the Big Ten will most likely see eight or nine teams go dancing.

3.) Draymond Green for Player of the Year

Everyone’s player of the year in the preseason was Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger. No disrespect to Sully, but Green has been better. Green has eleven double-doubles to Sullinger’s nine and has been instrumental in helping the Spartans reach the top ten in both polls. He also has 14 games of double-digit rebounds to Sullinger’s nine. Granted Sullinger hasn’t been healthy all season, that’s more of a reason to give Green the award at the end of the season.

Mark your calenders for February 11th because it marks the first meeting between Green and Sullinger when the Spartans travel to Columbus.

4.) Cody Zeller is No Boy, But Rather a Man

Who knew Zeller would have this much of an impact when he committed to play in Bloomington? He’s no doubt the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year, but more importantly he’s the key to the Hoosiers resurgence in 2012 (see story one). His inside game has opened it up for the Hoosiers sharpshooters on the perimeter.

He’s rough around the edges and can definitely improve on the defensive end, but what else can you expect out of a freshman. If Zeller decides to stay around another year or two, he will be the talk of the conference for some time to come.

5.) Conference Title Still Up for Grabs

What makes Big Ten basketball even more exciting is the fact that four or five teams are still in the mix for the conference title. While the Buckeyes appear to be the cream of the crop, they are not invincible, evident from their two road losses at Illinois and Indiana. They have another tough road venture when they travel to Wisconsin this weekend to take on the Badgers who sit just one game back in the standings. Michigan State is only a half game back from the Buckeyes while Michigan is a full game back. For these four teams, a strong finish in the conference could mean a number one or two seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Honorable Mention: Could this be the year that Northwestern Goes Dancing?, Minnesota’s Mbakwe Out for the Year, Badgers Do it On Defense Again

What do you think of these story-lines in the Big Ten this season? Did I miss something significant? Let me know by commenting below!

Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.

OTHER BIG TEN BASKETBALL RELATED ARTICLES:

- David Kay’s latest Bracketology with EIGHT Big Ten teams dancing
- Paul Banks’ latest Big Ten Power Rankings

It is kind of hard to believe that Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament is only six weeks away.  It is becoming time when college basketball teams are separating themselves as either tourney contenders or pretenders.  Here is The Sports Bank‘s latest Bracketology?  I have more than held my own the past couple of years against ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and with my extreme college hoops nerdom, plan to do so again this year.  Check back every week for an update.

UPDATED: 1/30/12

SOUTH REGIONAL-Atlanta

AT LOUISVILLE
1. Kentucky 21-1 (SEC)
16. UNC-Asheville 16-7 (Big South)/Mississippi Valley State 9-11 (SWAC)

8. Southern Miss 19-3 (CUSA)
9. Illinois 15-6 (B10)

AT COLUMBUS
5. Wisconsin 17-5 (B10)
12. BYU 18-6 (WCC)/Notre Dame 14-8 (BE)

4. Murray State 21-0 (OVC)
13. Middle Tennessee 20-3 (Sun Belt)

AT  NASHVILLE
6. Florida State 14-6 (ACC)
11. New Mexico 17-4 (MWC)

3. Georgetown 16-4 (BE)
14. Davidson 15-5 (Southern)

AT ALBUQUERQUE
7.  California 17-5 (P12)
10. Wichita State 18-4 (MVC)

2. Baylor 19-2 (B12)
15. Weber State 16-4 (Big Sky)

MIDWEST REGIONAL- St.Louis

AT LOUISVILLE
1. Ohio State 19-3 (B10)
16. Norfolk State 16-6 (MEAC)

8. Kansas State 15-5 (B12)
9. Memphis 15-6 (CUSA)

AT PORTLAND
5. St. Mary’s 21-2 (WCC)
12. Oregon 16-6 (P12)/Ole Miss 14-7 (SEC)

4. Creighton 20-2 (MVC)
13. Nevada 18-3 (WAC)

AT PITTSBURGH
6. Virginia 17-3 (ACC)
11. Xavier 14-7 (A10)

3. Marquette 18-4 (BE)
14. George Mason 18-5 (CAA)

AT OMAHA
7. Michigan 16-6 (B10)
10. Alabama 13-7 (SEC)

2. Missouri 19-2 (B12)
15. Akron 14-7 (MAC)

EAST REGIONAL-Boston        

AT PITTSBURGH
1. Syracuse 22-1 (BE)
16. Long Island 15-7 (NEC)/Stony Brook 13-7 (AEC)

8. Temple 15-5 (A10)
9. Harvard 18-2 (Ivy)

AT NASHVILLE
5. Indiana 17-5 (B10)
12. UMass 16-5 (A10)

4. Florida 17-4 (SEC)
13. Iona 17-5 (MAAC)

AT COLUMBUS
6. San Diego State 18-3 (MWC)
11. St. Louis 16-5 (A10)

3. Michigan State 17-4 (B10)
14. Cleveland State 18-4 (Horizon)

AT GREENSBORO
7. UConn 14-6 (BE)
10. Iowa State 15-6 (B12)

2. North Carolina 18-3 (ACC)
15. Bucknell 17-6 (Patroit)

WEST REGIONAL-Phoenix

AT GREENSBORO
1. Duke 18-3 (ACC)
16. UT-Arlington 15-5 (Southland)

8. West Virginia 15-7 (BE)
9. Minnesota 16-6 (B10)

AT PORTLAND
5. Vanderbilt 16-5 (SEC)
12. Washington 14-7 (P12)

4. Gonzaga 17-3 (WCC)
13. Long Beach State 16-6 (Big West)

AT ALBUQUERQUE
6. Louisville 17-5 (BE)
11. Purdue 15-7 (B10)

3. UNLV 20-3 (MWC)
14. Oral Roberts 20-4 (Summit)

AT OMAHA
7. Mississippi State 17-5 (SEC)
10. Seton Hall 15-6 (BE)

2. Kansas 17-4 (B12)
15. Belmont 15-7 (A-Sun)

Wrong Side of the Bubble:
Dayton 14-7 (A10)
Cincinnati 15-7 (BE)
Stanford 15-6 (P12)
N.C. State 15-7 (ACC)
Arkansas 15-6 (SEC)
VCU 18-5 (CAA)
Wyoming 17-4 (MWC)
Central Florida 15-6 (CUSA)

Multiple Bid Conferences:
Big East (8)
Big Ten (8)
SEC (6)
Big 12 (5)
ACC (4)
A10 (4)
Pac-12 (3)
MWC (3)
WCC (3)
MVC (2)
CUSA (2)

Click here for a list of RPI and SOS

David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank.  He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities.  David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu.  He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.

You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.

I am well aware that the 2012 NBA Draft has not even occurred yet.  Still, we are looking ahead to the 2013 NBA Draft with insanely early projections on how it may unfold.  Team needs and outstanding trades have NOT been taken into consideration with this 2013 NBA mock draft.  Click on the players’ name for a complete, in-depth scouting report.

(By the way, The Sports Bank was graded as the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.)

CLICK HERE FOR THE SPORTS BANK’S 2012 NBA MOCK DRAFT

1. Charlotte- Shabazz Muhammed, SF, Undecided, 6-6, HS Sr.
Considered by many as the top recruit in the 2012 class, Shabazz Muhammed has a complete all-around game.

2. Washington- Quincy Miller, SF, Baylor, 6-9 Fr.
A gifted athlete especially in the open floor, Quincy Miller has a well-rounded game as he can stroke it from deep.

Go here for more on Quincy Miller

3. Detroit- Steven Adams, C, Pitt, 7-0, HS Sr.
The New Zealand native has the ideal size to be a true NBA center and a decent skill set to match.

4. New Orleans- Kyle Anderson, SF, UCLA, 6-7, HS Sr.
Kyle Anderson is a smooth, all-around talent who is capable of playing a point forward type role.

5. Toronto- James McAdoo, F, North Carolina, 6-9, Fr.
He is UNC’s sixth man this season but the combo forward might be the team’s best long-term prospect.

Go here for more on James McAdoo

6. Sacramento- Isaiah Austin, C, Baylor, 7-0, HS Sr.
The Baylor recruit is a rim protector due to his length and athleticism, but needs to get much stronger.

7. Golden State- Austin Rivers, SG, Duke, 6-4, Fr.
A pure scorer, Doc’s son can light it up from deep and is also extremely effective off the bounce.  He needs to get stronger though.

Go here for more on Austin Rivers

8. Phoenix- Cody Zeller, C, Indiana, 6-11, Fr.
The Hoosier freshman is a talented, athletic big man but needs to add weight and muscle before being ready for the next level.

Go here for more on Cody Zeller

9. New Jersey- Patric Young, PF, Florida, 6-9, So.
Patric Young is built like a house and very athletic, but limited with his offensive game.

10. New York- Moe Harkless, SF, St. John’s, 6-8, Fr.
Moe Harkless is a skilled, lengthy, athletic wing who can you inside or outside.

11. Milwaukee- Mason Plumlee, PF, Duke, 6-10, Jr.
Athletically gifted, Mason Plumlee makes his biggest impact on the boards but also shown more aggression as a scorer in his junior season.

Go here for more on the Plumlees

12. Minnesota- Dario Saric, SF, Croatia, 6-10, 1994
The prototypical, versatile European, Dario Saric has great handles but has a long way to go in his physical development.

13. Memphis- Myck Kabongo, PG, Texas, 6-1, Fr.
A pure distributor, Kabonogo hasn’t lived up to expectations as a freshman but is still a big time talent.

14. Houston- Dion Waiters, G, Syracuse, 6-4, So.
The Orange sixth man is having a breakout season and is dangerous off the bounce or shooting the rock.

15. Cleveland- Tim Hardaway Jr., SG, Michigan, 6-5, So.
The Wolverine sophomore can score the basketball in a variety of ways.

Go here for more on Tim Hardaway Jr.

16. Boston- Jarnell Stokes, PF, Tennessee, 6-8, Fr.
The Volunteer freshman enrolled in college a semester early and is already a beast down low.

17. L.A. Lakers- Adonis Thomas, G/F, Memphis, 6-6, Fr.
Already blessed with a NBA-ready build, the Tiger freshman is a tough match-up due to his strength, athleticism, and ability to shoot the ball.  An ankle injury ended his freshman season early.

Go here for more on Adonis Thomas

18. Utah- Tony Mitchell, SF, North Texas, 6-7, Fr.
The former Mizzou commit just recently became eligible at North Texas.  His athleticism makes him attractive for the next level.

19. Dallas- LeBryan Nash, SF, Oklahoma State, 6-7, Fr.
The OSU freshman has incredible athleticism and strength but needs to work on his outside shot.

Go here for more on Lebryan Nash

20. Portland- Ryan Harrow, PG, Kentucky, 6-2, So.
The N-C State transfer will sit out this season but should greatly benefit playing the point for John Calipari next season.

21. San Antonio- Christian Watford, SF, Indiana, 6-9, Jr.
Christian Watford is a versatile, athletic combo forward with great size.

Go here for more on Christian Watford

22. L.A. Clippers- Fab Melo, C, Syracuse, 7-0, So.
The Orange big man has shown steady improvement and is in much better shape this season, but is still developing as a post player.

23. Orlando- Shabazz Napier, PG, UConn, 6-0, Soph.
His size is a concern, but Shabazz Napier’s natural feel as a point guard, ability to shoot the ball, and peskiness as a defender is hard to overlook.

24. Indiana- Allen Crabbe, SG, Cal, 6-6, So.
A talented shooter, Allen Crabbe needs to improve his dribble attack game.

25. Philadelphia- C.J. Lesile, F, N.C. State, 6-9, So.
A ridiculous athlete who excels above the rim, C.J. Lesile will need to develop the other areas of his game in his second year with the Wolfpack.

26. Atlanta- Rodney Hood, SF, Mississippi State, 6-8, Fr.
The athletic lefty has a smooth stroke from the perimeter.

27. Denver- Royce White, PF, Iowa State, 6-8, So.
He has had his share of issues during his collegiate career, but is a big body who handles the ball well for his size.

Go here for more on Royce White

28. Miami- Fuquan Edwin, G/F, Seton Hall, 6-6, So.
Edwin is an athletic wing who could become a terrific perimeter at the next level.

29. Chicago- Khris Middleton, SF, Texas A&M, 6-7, Jr.
The Aggie junior battled injury early this season but has a nice inside/outside game.

30. Oklahoma City- Alex Oriakhi, PF, UConn, 6-9, Jr.
The Husky big man has the size and strength to be a serviceable post player in the league.

Second Round
31. Charlotte- Maalik Wayns, PG, Villanova, 6-2, Jr.

32. Washington- Aaric Murray, C, West Virginia, 6-10, Jr.

33. Detroit- Mouphtaou Yarou, PF/C, Villanova, 6-10, Jr.

34. New Orleans- Aziz N’Diaye, C, Washington, 7-0, Jr.

35. Toronto- Elias Harris, F, Gonzaga, 6-7, Jr.

36. Sacramento- Lucas Noguiera, C, Brazil, 7-0, 1992

37. Golden State- J’Covan Brown, G, Texas, 6-1, Jr.

38. Phoenix- Jared Cunningham, G, Oregon State, 6-4, Jr.

39. New Jersey- Raul Neto, PG, Brazil, 6-2, 1992

40. New York- Zeke Marshall, C, Akron, 7-0, Jr.

41. Milwaukee- Rodney Williams, SF, Minnesota, 6-7, Jr.

Go here for more on Rodney Williams

42. Minnesota- Michael Snaer, SG, Florida State, 6-4, Jr.

43. Memphis- Tony Mitchell, SF, Alabama, 6-6, Jr.

44. Houston- Jeff Withey, C, Kansas, 6-11, Jr.

45. Cleveland- Elijah Johnson, G, Kansas, 6-4, Jr.

46. Boston- C.J. McCullom, SG, Lehigh, 6-3, Jr.

47. L.A. Lakers- Keith Clanton, PF, UCF, 6-8, Jr.

48. Utah- Dexter Strickland, SG, North Carolina, 6-3, Jr.

49. Dallas- Arsalan Kazemi, SF, Rice, 6-8, Jr.

50. Portland- Erick Green, PG, Virginia Tech, 6-4, Jr.

51. San Antonio- Kenny Boynton, G, Florida, 6-2, Jr.

52. L.A. Clippers- Matthew Dellavedova, PG, St. Mary’s, 6-4, Jr.

53. Orlando- Tim Frazier, PG, Penn State, 6-1, Jr.

Go here for more on Tim Frazier

54. Indiana- Andre Dawkins, SG, Duke, 6-4, Jr.

55. Philadelphia- Brandon Paul, G, Illinois, 6-3, Jr.

Go here for more on Brandon Paul

56. Atlanta- Wally Judge, PF, Rutgers, 6-9, Jr.

57. Denver- Solomon Hill, SF, Arizona, 6-6, Jr.

58. Miami- Ryan Kelly, PF, Duke, 6-10, Jr.

59. Chicago- Isaiah Canaan, PG, Murray State, 6-1, Jr.

60. Oklahoma City- Peyton Siva, PG, Louisville, 5-11, Jr.

David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank.  He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities.  David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu.  He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft on the web.

You can follow him on Twitter at DavidKay_TSB.