It's safe to say the Arizona State team UA meets tonight in Tempe will probably provide a bit more of a challenge to the Wildcats than the last time the two teams played.

How could they not, after the Wildcats' 108-76 drubbing of the Sun Devils at McKale Center, Jan. 10?

To that point in the season, coach Bill Frieder's Sun Devils were halfway through a six-game losing streak that left them 5-8. But now, after taking three of their last four, including an 88-79 win over the Wildcat-killer Washington Huskies, ASU is just a game below .500.

UA head coach Lute Olson traces that renaissance to a change in the Sun Devils' offensive set. Junior Quincy Brewer, who has not attempted a three-point shot this season, has been moved from a wing position to the point guard spot. That allowed Jeremy Vea l, the team's leading scorer (20.3) and leading three-point shooter (40.2 percent) to move from point to wing.

The moves do two things. One, they allow Veal to roam freely along the perimeter, looking for shots, and two, Brewer can use his 6-foot-5-inch, 210 pound frame to post up inside off screens set on the perimeter.

"It's much more effective for them," Olson said. "They've got two outstanding shooters (Veal and Ron Riley) in wing positions, and Brewer's down in the post where he's much more effective as a scorer and rebounder."

What makes the Sun Devils troublesome is the ability of their guards and wingmen to get rebounds. Brewer, besides leading the team with 4.5 assists a game, gets a team-high 5.9 rebounds a game. Riley is right behind him with 5.8 a game in addition to his 19.9 points.

That means UA's perimeter players will be tested to try and keep the Sun Devils off the glass and try to get some rebounds of their own.

Olson said how the team fares in the second half of the Pacific 10 Conference season depends on more people getting involved in rebounding. Senior forward Ben Davis leads the league with 9.1 rebounds a game, but the next Wildcat, forward Corey Williams, a verages just 4.5 rebounds.

"If we're going to be a real good basketball team, we need better rebounding," Olson said. "We can't ask Ben to do more, Reggie (Geary), Michael (Dickerson) and Corey have to do more."

"We just have to get prepared to play," said Geary, who averages 3.7 rebounds a game and will get the assignment on Riley. "They're doing a great job getting offensive boards. We just have to be hard-nosed, get down and dirty."

One Wildcat who has fond memories of the Jan. 10 game, senior forward Joe McLean, was not promising a repeat performance of his 30-point outburst against ASU. At one point in the first half of that game, McLean had outscored the Sun Devils 22-21.

"I'm not going to force anything and play outside my role. If the shots are open, I'll take them," McLean said.

McLean also expects a markedly different ASU team.

"It's obvious their confidence is up from the first half of the season. We knew from the get-go they had players capable of winning a lot of games, and now they're playing to their potential," he said.

But even with the loss of Joseph Blair, who had 24 points and 16 rebounds against the Sun Devils in his last game before his academic probation, not all the Wildcats are convinced anything has changed between the two teams since January.

"They don't have any big guys, so if we can stop Riley and Veal we should blow them out again," Dickerson said.