Leading Off

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PHOTOGRAPH BY GREG NELSON FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Up and Umbra Wichita State junior guard Ron Baker lofted a runner over Indiana guard Nick Zeisloft—and, thanks to a single-strobe light, helped create a cool hieroglyph on the court—during their NCAA tournament round-of-64 matchup last Friday in Omaha. Baker finished with 15 points in the Shockers' 81--76 victory, then scored 12 two days later in a 78--65 upset of second-seeded Kansas (page 40).

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PHOTOGRAPH BY DAVID E. KLUTHO SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

That Cat In the Cats Kentucky point guard Andrew Harrison split high-flying Cincinnati defenders Gary Clark (11) and Coreontae DeBerry (22) and found a wide-open Willie Cauley-Stein during their round-of-32 game last Saturday in Louisville. After a slow start, Harrison and the top-seeded Wildcats blasted the Bearcats 64--51.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY JOHN W. MCDONOUGH SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

Basket Hanging UC Irvine center Mamadou Ndiaye caught his breath—and two hands full of net, flat-footed—as his teammates took on Louisville at the other end of the court last Friday in Seattle. Ndiaye, a 7'6" sophomore from Senegal and the tallest player in the NCAA tournament, had 12 points and five rebounds in the Anteaters' 57--55 loss. Louisville went on to beat Northern Iowa to advance to the Sweet 16.