Ole Miss star Marshall Henderson can't keep his emotions in check any better than SEC defenses can keep him in check.

Moments after sinking the go-ahead free throws with 6.4 seconds remaining to lift the No. 23 Rebels over Auburn 63-61, Henderson approached the Tigers student section, popped his jersey and pounded his chest. Auburn students responded predictably to Henderson's taunting, doing everything from flipping him off, to throwing objects in his direction, to showering him in curse words.

Henderson's behavior won't appeal to those who value sportsmanship and humility in athletics, yet his bravado makes him easily the most entertaining player in an otherwise bland SEC. In addition to leading the SEC in chest thumps and impossibly deep threes, Henderson is the league's high scorer, averaging 19.2 points per game to lead Ole Miss (17-2, 6-0) to a surprising unbeaten start to conference play.

Saturday actually wasn't one of Henderson's better games as he finished with 15 points on 4 of 15 shooting, including 4 of 13 from behind the arc. Nonetheless, he drew a foul on Shaq Johnson on Ole Miss' final possession as the Rebels were inbounding under their own basket, enabling him to put away the game at the foul line.

Perhaps the ultimate measure of Henderson's entertainment value comes from the fact that football-crazed Auburn actually sold out Saturday's basketball game even though the Tigers are struggling through a discouraging 8-11 season. Yes, Henderson is polarizing, but when he comes to your town, he's must-see.

Top-ranked Duke left no doubt which team was better after dismantling Maryland 84-64 on Saturday in Durham.

More worthy of debate, however, was which team produced the superior dunk.

Was it Maryland's Alex Len beating Mason Plumlee baseline early in the first half and throwing down this ridiculous reverse slam?

Or was it Plumlee returning the favor late in the second half with a two-handed reverse dunk of his own off the rebound of a Quinn Cook layup attempt?

Players throw a towel at a bat flying in the Bradley Center during Saturday's game (USA Today Sports Images)

Even though Marquette guard Junior Cadougan scored a team-high 15 points and three other teammates tallied 13 apiece, none of them were the star of the Golden Eagles' 81-71 victory over Providence.

Providence coach Ed Cooley shields himself from the bat (screengrab via @BubbaProg)That honor goes to the rogue bat that flittered around the Bradley Center midway through the second half, disrupting the game and sending players, coaches and refs scrambling for cover.

Marquette held a 58-42 lead with 11:23 left when the bat first appeared. Referees halted play several times during the next few minutes as players from both teams tossed towels into the air like nets in an effort to catch the bat.

At the 7:36 mark, after Providence rallied to chop Marquette's lead to six, arena officials opted to dim the lights in hopes the bat would settle in the rafters and play could resume uninterrupted. That strategy proved effective, enabling the game to continue and the Golden Eagles to regain momentum and close out the victory.

"It was funny to begin with," Marquette coach Buzz Williams told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "But after awhile, it was, 'Damn the bat. We have to win.' There is going to be a winner and a loser. There's not going to be an asterisk that said a bat was in the building."

If Marquette was the winner on the floor, the bat was the winner in the world of social media. He now has two Twitter accounts devoted to him.

NIU coach Mark Montgomery (USA Today Sports Images)In the midst of a season in which scoring in college hoops could sink to its lowest levels in more than 60 years, we've witnessed five-point halves, 0-for-23 3-point shooting and a game in which both teams failed to break 40 points.

Somehow, someway, however, Northern Illinois managed to top all those.

In a woeful 42-25 loss to Eastern Michigan on Saturday, the Huskies set a shot-clock era record by scoring only four first-half points and by shooting 13.1 percent from the field for the game. They trailed 18-4 at halftime and had only 13 points with four minutes to play in regulation before a late surge kept them from breaking the Division I record for fewest points in a game -- 20, set by Saint Louis against George Washington in January 2008.

If ever there were a team capable of setting records for anemic scoring, this freshman- and sophomore-heavy Northern Illinois team was certainly a good candidate. Not only had the Huskies (4-14) already had a five-point first half on Dec. 1 at Dayton, they also entered Saturday's game 336th in points per game (57.6), 334th in points per possession (0.86) and 339th in field goal percentage (37.1).

[Also: Louisville's losing streak hits three games]

Eastern Michigan, which runs a Syracuse-esque two-three zone, was the ideal team to exploit Northern Ilinois' outside shooting futility. The Eagles slowed down the tempo, settled into their zone and let the Huskies brick shot after shot from behind the arc.

Northern Illinois shot 1 of 31 from the floor in the first half, including 29 consecutive misses. After 32 straight errant attempts from behind the arc, Daveon Balls finally made the Huskies' lone 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining to get his team to 1 of 33 from long range.

Otto Porter and Georgetown upset Louisville (USA Today Sports Images)

The first loss to top-five Syracuse was forgivable. The second loss to previously struggling Villanova was a bit more alarming.

And now that Louisville has fallen for a third straight game, this time 53-51 at Georgetown on Saturday, the level of uneasiness over the Cardinals' midseason slump is gradually rising toward full-fledged concern.

A Louisville team seemingly streaking toward a Big East title and a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament barely over a week ago now no longer appears certain of attaining either goal. At 16-4 overall, 4-3 in the Big East, the Cardinals are in a seven-way tie for third in the Big East and will surely drop out of the top 10 for the first time this season when the new AP Top 25 poll is released Monday.

There's ample time for Louisville to recover, but the Cardinals have to regain the identity they forged the first two months of the season.

Up until this recent skid, Louisville was a defensive juggernaut with a surprisingly effective offense that overcame erratic outside shooting by scoring off its defense in transition or thanks to the creativity of Russ Smith and Peyton Siva off the dribble. In the last three games, however, the Cardinals have been less dominant on defense and downright ineffective on offense.

They shot 40.9 percent from the floor against Syracuse and got nobody in double figures besides Smith. They shot 39.7 percent against Villanova, dragged down by Smith's anemic 2 of 13 shooting. And they saved their worst for last against Georgetown, sinking just 34.8 percent of their shots.

Darrun Hilliard celebrates with JayVaughn Pinkston during Saturday's win (USA TODAY Sports Images)

How quickly fortunes can change this topsy-turvy college hoops season.

Five days ago, Villanova was below .500 in Big East play, mired in a three-game losing streak and not even viewed as a realistic NCAA tournament threat. Now, the Wildcats suddenly have new life thanks to back-to-back astonishing victories against a pair of top five opponents.

Villanova followed up its upset of Big East co-favorite Louisville on Tuesday night by also toppling fellow league title threat Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. Freshman point guard Ryan Arcidiacono buried a game-tying corner 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left in regulation and James Bell knocked down a pair of huge threes in overtime, propelling the Wildcats to a 75-71 victory over the Orange.

The importance of this week's victories for Villanova's NCAA tournament hopes cannot be overstated. The Wildcats, now 13-7 overall and 4-3 in the Big East, cracked the RPI top 50 after beating Louisville and surely will rise even higher now.

[Related: NC State student writes touching column about legendary UNC coach Dean Smith]

There were few signs Villanova was an NCAA tournament caliber team prior to this week.

A youthful Wildcats team that lost its two leading scorers from last year's woeful 19-loss season fell to Alabama by 22, to Columbia by 18 and to Temple by 15 in non-conference play this season, raising concerns this year's team may not be any better. Those fears appeared to be confirmed last Saturday when a three-point loss at Providence dropped Villanova to 2-3 in Big East play entering by far its toughest three-game stretch of the season.

Cal Poly guard Jamal Johnson's face (photo via @CoachCallero)

Cal Poly guard Jamal Johnson won't soon forget having his face stepped on by teammate Reese Morgan as both were attempting to chase down a loose ball during practice Friday.

All Johnson has to do to be reminded this weekend is look in the mirror.

The tread of Morgan's sneaker left an imprint on the right side of Johnson's face that appears as though it may be visible for another day or two. Cal Poly coach Joe Callero tweeted a photo of Johnson's face late Friday night, joking that the junior guard now has "shoe print tattoo."

Johnson paid an unfortunate price for his hustle in practice, but Cal Poly has been rewarded for its effort this season more often than not. The Mustangs (8-9, 4-3) boast a non-league victory over UCLA and are the only Big West team to defeat league favorite Long Beach State so far this season.

Dean Smith (Getty Images)

If the exchange of barbs and banter among fans is typically the most fun aspect of college basketball's fiercest rivalries, then it's refreshing to know there can also occasionally be mutual respect among hated foes.

An NC State student proved that Thursday with a touching column in the school's student newsaper about legendary North Carolina coach Dean Smith in advance of Saturday's first meeting of the season between the Wolfpack and Tar Heels.

[Related: Watch: FSU's Michael Snaer hits another game-winning buzzer beater]

In a column entitled "A prayer for Dean Smith," NC State junior Rob McLamb shared his admiration for the Hall of Fame coach, expressing hope that in Smith's more clear-headed days he feels loved by not just Tar Heels fans but supporters of their Tobacco Road rivals too. Smith, now 81, has made fewer and fewer public appearances the past few years as a result of a fading memory that on good days is still razor-sharp but on bad days prevents him from recalling the names of even longtime friends.

When Smith is having one of his better moments, it would be wonderful if he could just feel a warm breeze of love — the type of feeling people get when they look into the eyes of someone they care for unconditionally and see the exact same expression staring back. It would be an appropriate way to show gratitude for someone who gave so much to others.

Let the warm regard from each person who has had his or her life improved by Smith be combined to form a sustained feeling.

Let that feeling gain momentum all over the Triangle and the state. Let it be created right here, right now in Wake County and pick up steam as it reaches the gothic buildings in western Durham that represent a different shade of blue.

The reaction to McLamb's column has been mixed among NC State fans and largely positive everywhere else.