Missouri’s pressure defense is something that concerns Cincinnati Coach Mick Cronin.

“I’m a little bit worried about how our guys will handle it,” he said. “We really haven’t faced anybody who has played their kind of game all year.”

The Tigers average 9.8 steals a game, tied with Duquesne for tops in the nation.

According to Cronin, his message has been simple: “Pass the ball to the guy who is open. And do it right away.”

Cronin went on to point out that the ones who dribble too much are the ones that end up with all the turnovers.

Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin believes Lance Stephenson made the right choice in declaring early for the draft.

“I thought it was right for both of us,” Cronin said. “I thought he would develop better there because he would feel less pressure because he would already have a paycheck and he would already be in the NBA.

“We had Sean Kilpatrick redshirting and everybody back. There’s no question it was best for us. Less drama. You’ve got to have a team at this level.”

Cronin said he does not regret signing Stephenson, noting that Stephenson’s departure added to the perception he could help other players make it to the NBA.

“Don’t think that that didn’t help us sign Jermaine Sanders and Shaquille Thomas,” Cronin said. “The fallacy of recruiting is that I got a guy to the NBA, like Mick Cronin had anything to do with Lance Stephenson getting to the NBA.”

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.

Ben Hansbrough of Notre Dame has been named Big East Player of the Year.

Rick Jackson of Syracuse won Defensive Player of the Year, DePaul's Cleveland Melvin won Rookie of the Year and Dwight Hardy of St. John's won Most Improved Player honors.

Hansbrough was joined on the All-Big East First Team by Marshon Brooks (Providence), Austin Freeman (Georgetown), Ashton Gibbs (Pitt), Dwight Hardy (St. John's) and Kemba Walker (Connecticut).

On the All-Big East Second Team are Corey Fisher (Villanova), Rick Jackson (Syracuse), Darius Johnson-Odom (Marquette), Preston Knowles (Louisville) and Brad Wanamaker (Pitt).

The All-Rookie Team is comprised of Jeremy Lamb (Connecticut), Gilvydas Biruta (Rutgers), Sean Kilpatrick (Cincinnati), Melvin, Shabazz Napier (Connecticut) and Brandon Young (DePaul).

• Click here for more award information from the Big East.