No looking past Cal

Head coach Lute Olson is hoping his team won't let California crash the affair.

With two victories this weekend, the second-ranked Wildcats will lay claim to the Pacific 10 Conference championship - the only title that has eluded the senior class of Michael Dickerson, Miles Simon and Bennett Davison.

But forgetting about California could be disastrous. A loss to the Golden Bears would not cost UA a shot at the title, but the undefeated Pac-10 season - another of the team's season goals - would be gone.

"Everyone is talking about an 18-0 sweep but to do that we have to beat Cal first," Dickerson said. "It would be a great cap to my career to win the Pac-10 championship."

The Golden Bears and Wildcats will tip off at McKale Center tonight at 8:30.

"When (the team) has the opportunity to see the breakdown of the Cal-Washington game, they will understand why we are concerned about them," Olson said.

After a rough start to the season, the Bears (11-12 overall, 7-7 in the Pac-10) are finally starting to turn things around. They have won three of their last four - including an 84-67 win over UW - and came within three points of upsetting UCLA.

"Right now, they're playing well," Olson said. "I said when we were playing up there that Cal would be a first division Pac-10 team."

The Bears' recent success can be attributed to the play of Geno Carlisle, Thomas Kilgore, and conference player of the week Sean Marks. Carlisle averages 18.2 points a game, Kilgore pours in 12.7.

"Carlisle and Kilgore have really settled into their roles and are playing well," Olson said. "They have an abundance of talent with Marks in the middle."

A conference championship would be the eighth in UA history but the first since 1994.

"We want to be able to cut down the nets Saturday," Arizona senior Miles Simon said.

The final two home games of the year coming against Cal and Stanford- Arizona closes the regular season on the road at Southern Cal and UCLA next week - are crucial to Olson.

"There is probably no better time for us to have tough games like this with the tournament close at hand," he said.

The Bears come in with a bit of history on their side. In 1993, the Wildcats were 14-0 in the Pac-10 and riding a 19-game winning streak heading into a game with Cal. The Bears won 74-71, giving UA its only conference loss of the season.

This time the Wildcats are 14-0 in conference, 24-3 overall, and riding a 17-game streak.

"The Cal game has to come first," Davison said. "We have to beat them to have a chance to go undefeated."

No. 2 Arizona vs. California

(24-3, 14-0 Pac-10)(11-12, 7-7)

When: Tonight at 8:30

Where: McKale Center

TV/Radio: The game will be televised by Fox Sports Net and broadcast on KNST Radio (AM 790)

What: The Wildcats have won their past 17 games - Arizona defeated Cal 70-57 the last time these two team met - The Wildcats hold a 31-22 all-time lead over the Golden Bears - Cal has had some success in McKale, posting two of the 10 losses Arizona has suffered at home since the 1987-88 season