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Ole Miss loses, then Marshall Henderson flips off crowd

La Salle v Ole Miss

KANSAS CITY, MO - MARCH 24: Marshall Henderson #22 of the Mississippi Rebels reacts late in the second half against the La Salle Explorers during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Sprint Center on March 24, 2013 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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All it took was one ‘Southwest Philly Floater’ from Tyrone Garland, and the Marshall Henderson Show came to an end.

Garland’s driving layup gave No. 13 seed La Salle a 76-74 win over No. 12 seed Ole Miss, a loss that may mean that we have seen the last of Marshall Henderson, the country’s most entertaining and polarizing college basketball player, at the collegiate level.

It begs the question: why didn’t Henderson get one last look?

Garland’s shot went in with 2.5 seconds left on the clock. Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy had a timeout left. He has a guy on his team in Henderson that has done things like this before. I understand the coaching theory that not calling a timeout will keep you from having to go up against a set defense, and usually I agree with it.

MORE: How La Salle made its surprising Sweet 16 run

But 2.5 seconds left is not enough time to get anything better than a prayer without setting up a play. And that’s exactly what Ole Miss ended up with -- a shot fired up from beyond half court. Hindsight is 20-20, but I think it was a pretty obvious move to make at the time, as well.

It’s pointless to argue now, but it does make you wonder: did that play a role in what happened after the game, when he flipped off the crowd leaving the court?:

I asked Marshall Henderson why he flipped off the crowd: “someone yelled that my sister is a whore and said something about cocaine.”

— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) March 25, 2013

Henderson said he’s always going to react, especially when someone says something to him after a loss and “in a moment like that.”

— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) March 25, 2013

You can find Rob on twitter @RobDauster.