Unfortunately, defensive stats are not to the point where I can consistently honor defensive specialists in a Line o’ the Night. But Saturday was a day for defenders to shine in obvious ways.

Temple’s Dustin Salisbery shut down J.J. Redick to the tune of 11 points on 3-for-10 shooting. Hey, give John Chaney credit. His teams have given up the highest percentage of opponents points on three-pointers this season (to go with a #2 ranking last season, and #1 in ‘04). So this figured to be a game where J.J. would get his looks. But the typically stubborn Chaney showed some flexibility by using a lot of box-and-one, and when he used a straight zone, extending it farther than normal.

San Diego’s Corey Belser once again slowed down Adam Morrison. Morrison also tallied 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting. In five career games against Belser, Morrison has been held to a total of 67 points on 46.6% eFG. San Diego is 0-5 in those games.

Finally, Boston College’s Sean Williams played a career-high 35 minutes and had a career-high 8 blocks in a double overtime win against NC State. His 10 free throw attempts nearly doubled his total for the season. That Sean Williams could be the missing link for BC, but I have a feeling this is more of a blip on the radar than an emerging trend. A footnote here: the 10 minutes of overtime produced a score of BC 7, NC State 5.

Speaking of blocks, I should have known the folks over at 82games.com would have long ago used their supercomputers to test the theory I posed about blocks and offensive rebounds in NBA terms. The upshot is that NBA blocked shots are rebounded by the defense 57% of the time, compared to 71% on all shots. Thanks to Kevin Pelton for the link.

Friday

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Keydren Clark          45 15-35  9-20 4-4  1-3   1 2 1  5  0   43
Result: Loss. Canisius 91, St. Peter's 84. (OT)   

Senior night always seems to bring out the Kobe in guys who have been given the green light to shoot all season.

Saturday

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Dwayne Curtis          32  8-17  0-0  2-2 10-10  2 3 2  2  0   18
Result: Loss. Auburn 58, Mississippi 54.

Sunday

                           FG    3pt  FT   Reb
                      Min  M-A   M-A  M-A  O-T   A F S TO BLK Pts
Brandon Roy            34  9-13  3-6  6-6  1-5   2 2 1  4  0   27
Result: Win. Washington 73, California 62.