JON HELGASON/Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman UA center Isaiah Fox, left, and junior forward Luke Walton sandwich an ASU defender Feb. 20 in McKale Center. The Wildcats and Sun Devils will meet for the third time this season today at 7:42 p.m. MT in the quarterfinals of the Pacific 10 Conference tournament in Los Angeles.

Arizona takes on ASU in Pac-10 quarterfinals

LOS ANGELES - After Arizona's 88-72 loss Jan. 23 in Tempe, Wildcat players downplayed the rivalry with Arizona State.

Not even the ejection of ASU guard Kyle Dodd in the Wildcats' 83-75 win Feb. 20 in Tucson could spark talk of a rivalry on the basketball court.

Maybe a conference tournament game will.

For the first time in the 201-game history of the rivalry, UA and ASU will meet tonight at a neutral site - the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

When the teams clash at 7:42 p.m. MT, Arizona will be playing for NCAA tournament seeding, as ASU fights for a chance at the postseason.

Though the bad blood is not quite boiling to the point of an all-out rivalry - despite the regular-season split - junior guard Jason Gardner said ASU's aggressive and physical play will make the game entertaining.

"It's going to be a challenge," Gardner said. "They are a physical team. A lot of people are trying to turn it into a rivalry, but I don't know if it is necessarily a rivalry right now."

ASU center Chad Prewitt said the rivalry exists between the two schools and is starting to spill over onto the basketball court, now that the Sun Devils are more competitive.

"It's always a rivalry," Prewitt said. "More with the fans and the alumni, but for the players too. We need this game to stay alive."

Though Gardner and the majority of the Wildcats are not focusing on whether the game should be classified as a rivalry, there is no mistaking the attitude of the game as one they want to win.

"It is going to be a game of confidence," junior forward Ricky Anderson said. "We have to go in there with an attitude."

Anderson, who has been stricken with a virus that has limited his minutes of late, said he is on the road to recovery.

"I had a virus," Anderson said. "An everything virus. I had to fight through it (during the games against Stanford and Cal). I think I shoot better when I am sick. So maybe I should stay sick."

Maybe he should.

In the last two games, Anderson combined for 26 points and 20 rebounds in 54 minutes of play.

Saturday against California, the 6-foot-9 junior had 17 points and nine rebounds in just 20 minutes.

Olson said Anderson is expected to be at full strength by game time, unlike three of Arizona State's players who are nursing injuries.

Prewitt is suffering from a ligament injury in his shooting elbow and forwards Awvee Storey and Chris Osborne each received stitches after hitting heads during practice yesterday.

Storey is also recovering from an injury to his eye that could have threatened his vision, ASU head coach Rob Evans said.

"Storey's eye was getting a little better," Evans said. "Then he got injured in practice. It was a freak deal."

Even with the injuries to the Sun Devils, both teams are expecting a battle to the end.

Evans said rebounding and field goal percentage will play a big part in the outcome.

In Arizona's blowout loss in Tempe, the Wildcats shot the ball poorly and mustered only 29 rebounds compared to ASU's 39.

Olson said that in order to be successful against ASU, and from here on out, his team cannot afford to struggle in the areas of rebounding or shooting.

"We need to be consistent on the boards," Olson said. "We also need to make sure that every offensive possession results in a good look."

Olson looked beyond the two meetings this year to how ASU has played against other conference foes.

"They played really well against Stanford," Olson said. "Most of (their games) came down to the wire. They have three really athletic front line guys. They are a tough match-up for us, and we are tough for them."