Kemba Walker is on pace to blow away the postseason performances of the Most Outstanding Players of the past 14 NCAA tournaments.

Statsheet.com keeps game-by-game stats dating back to 1997. Since then, the highest postseason average points-plus-rebounds-plus-assists total for the MOPs belongs to Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony. While leading the Orange to the 2003 national title, Melo averaged 33.7 (21.4 points, 10 rebounds, 2.3 assists) in two Big East tournament games and six NCAA tournament games.

In five Big East tournament games and four NCAA tournament games this season, Walker is averaging 37.5 (26.3 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.3 assists).

Marquette forward Jimmy Butler ranks second on the team in points (15.8), rebounds (6.1), fourth in assists (2.3), and first in minutes (34.6). But it’s on defense where Butler truly shines. 

Butler held the Atlantic 10’s Player of the Year Tu Holliday to five points on 1-of-8 shooting in a 66-55 win over Xavier in the first round and followed that up by limiting Syracuse guard Scoop Jardine to 6 points as the Golden Eagles eliminated the Orange, 66-62.

"He's the smartest player I've ever coached," Marquette coach Buzz Williams says. Butler, a devotee of film study, ranks No. 16 in offensive efficiency among players who use at least 20 percent of their team's possessions (as per kenpom.com). And for all his defensive prowess, he commits just 1.54 fouls per 40 minutes -- 26th fewest in the nation.

"You can tell me I'm a good player, a scorer," Butler says, "but I want to be a great defender first."

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim responded to Charles Barkley’s claim that the Big East is “the most overrated conference in the world,” telling ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that Barkley knows nothing about college hoops.

Said Beoheim:  "I love Charles Barkley, he's a good friend of mine and he's a funny guy. He knows nothing about college basketball. Less than nothing."

Sports agent David Falk, who represented Michael Jordan and other top basketball players, has pledged $15 million to Syracuse University.

In return, SU will change the name of the College of Human Ecology to the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics, college officials said.

The money from Falk and his wife, Rhonda, both SU graduates, will be used for “academic programs and cross-disciplinary initiatives” in the new Falk college, said university spokesman Kevin Quinn.

In Syracuse’s last three games, Fab Melo has shown signs of progress and hope.

“He's kind of an X factor,’’ Boeheim said of Melo. “I'm always helpful. I'm not counting on it. It's one of those – you're hoping that something can happen here.

“He's had a couple of good games,’’ Boeheim added.

“He's been better in practice. He's not quite ready. He's better than he was early in the year when he really struggled. But I think he's definitely gotten to the point where we're very hopeful that he can contribute.’’

Melo scored scored 10 points in the regular season finale against DePaul and then had 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting in the Orange’s win over St. John’s in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.

Ahead of their first round matchup in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, Jim Boeheim was asked about the play of freshman center Fab Melo.

“Well in the last few weeks he [Fab Melo] played very well against DePaul," said Boeheim. "He made some really good plays down in Georgetown when he went back in and obviously played very well against St.John’s. I think he got a little too confident against Connecticut. He tried to make some shots that he’s not ready for yet, but I think he’s practiced well. He’s had a couple of good practices this week. I felt from the beginning it would take the freshmen some time to get there. I think Dion [Waiters] and C.J.[Fair] are playing better. I think it’s unfortunate that the Baye’s [Moussa Keita] hand is hurting so much because he’s really getting better too, but his hands still holds him back. We’re going to go as far as our veterans take us. The key is to how much our young guys can help us. For us to win in the tournament the young guys are going to have to help the veterans. I think they’re ready to do that. We’re very confident they can do that.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan says schools not on track to graduate at least half of their basketball players should not be allowed to compete in the NCAA tournament.

Duncan proposes bans for teams with a score lower than 925, which predicts a graduation rate of roughly 50% of a team's players.

"The math on this is not complicated," Duncan said. "If you can't graduate one in two of your student-athletes, I just question the institutional commitment to academics. And I think if the NCAA were to draw a line in the sand, you'd see this behavior change very rapidly."

Duncan cites an analysis by the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, out Thursday, that says 43.7% of the revenue paid to conferences from the men's tournament the last five years was earned by teams not on track to graduate half of their players.

Indiana State coach Greg Lansing is having his team practice five against six to prepare for Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense.

“You try and simulate whatever you can. Whether it’s six guys in our zone or having the guys shoot over a stick off of a drive or a post move. We’ve done it before, but we have to break it out this week. We have to try a little bit of everything," Lansing said.

"I mean they have four or five guys with seven-foot wing spans that just intimidate you," Lansing added. "It's a beast. We haven't really seen that kind of length this season."

Indiana State will play Syracuse on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Kemba Walker led Connecticut to five victories in five consecutive nights to win the 2011 Big East Tournament.

Walker led all tournament participants in points, steals, minutes and FIC. Walker played in 190 of UConn's available 205 minutes.

Joining Walker on the Big East All-Tournament Team was teammate Jeremy Lamb, Peyton Siva and Preston Knowles (Louisville), Rick Jackson (Syracuse) and Scott Martin (Notre Dame).

• Click here to view RealGM’s comprehensive list of 2011 Conference Tournaments.

Ohio State is the No. 1 overall seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament and will be placed in the East Region.

Joining the Buckeyes No. 1 seeds is Kansas in the Midwest, Pittsburgh in the Southeast and Duke in the West.

Pitt is the only No. 1 seed to not win their conference tournament, losing to eventual champion Connecticut in the quarterfinals.

San Diego State, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Florida are the No. 2 seeds, while Syracuse, Purdue, Connecticut and BYU are the No. 3 seeds. Kentucky, Louisville, Texas and Wisconsin are the No. 4 seeds.

Kansas and Duke were also No. 1 seeds in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, while Ohio State was a No. 2 and Pitt was a No. 3.

The Final Four will be held in Houston on April 2nd and 4th.

• Click here to view RealGM’s 2011 NCAA Tournament Page.