KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA freshman center Channing Frye battles with a UCLA player for a rebound last weekend in McKale Center. Frye and the Wildcats travel to Tempe to face Arizona State tonight.

Arizona heads to Tempe for annual rivalry

In 1914 under then-head coach Raymond Quigley, Arizona made its first trek north to take on Arizona State. Quigley led his team to a 41-17 victory, laying the first claim to bragging rights between the schools.

Tonight at 8:30, 88 years after the first meeting in Tempe, head coach Lute Olson will take his No. 10 Wildcats (13-4, 6-2) to Tempe for the 199th edition of the UA-ASU rivalry.

Arizona's historical mastery of ASU may have diluted the battle of the I-10. The Wildcats' 126 series victories include the last 12 in a row, five of which UA won by a margin of 15 or more points.

Olson, who has lost to ASU only five times during his 19 years at the helm of the Wildcats, said there will be no shortage of emotion in Wells Fargo Arena but admits the rivalry has lost some of its splendor.

"We know this is going to be a tough one," Olson said. "I think this game is always the most important game in the state to our alums and ASU alums. From our players' standpoint, they always look at UCLA as the biggest (rivalry) because, for so many years, it was UCLA or us winning the (Pacific 10 Conference) title."

Arizona's recent dominance and Pac-10 titles aside, ASU (10-7, 3-5) is not the same patsy it has been in the past.

Following Arizona's second loss this season to Oregon in McKale Center Jan. 4, ASU dealt the Ducks their first and only conference loss two days later.

Despite the win against the Ducks and senior forward Chad Prewitt's 17.5 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, not everything has turned out so well for the Sun Devils.

While Arizona comes into tonight's game having swept the Los Angeles schools at home for its fourth and fifth straight wins, ASU has dropped three of its last four games.

However, Olson said ASU's conference record does not reflect its play so far this season.

"Any time you are on the road in this league it's a challenge," Olson said. "(The Sun Devils) have really been playing well. Both of their losses to UCLA and USC are games they could have won."

Three of ASU's five conference losses have been decided by fewer than five points, including a three-point loss to UCLA last Thursday.

Junior guard Jason Gardner said he is expecting a physical battle on par with the most recent battles against ASU.

"We want to go in there and get a big win," Gardner said. "There are going to be some dirty fouls. If it is working out in our favor, I like to have it physical."

For freshman center Channing Frye, the return to Tempe will supply a bit more incentive for the Phoenix native, who prepped at St. Mary's High School.

Frye tried to downplay the game but said he is looking forward to playing in front of a familiar crowd.

"I find it as another game," Frye said. "It is a chance for me to go out there and prove to everyone that I made the right decision."

The 6-foot-10 Frye has been on a torrid shooting pace of late, hitting 21 of 22 shots in the last four games while making his last 15 free throw attempts.

Frye said he is more pleased with the team's recent performances than his own.

"I just go out there and shoot," Frye said. "I am not a personal stat guy."

Frye is not the only Wildcat who has caught fire.

Freshman Salim Stoudamire is rewriting the UA record books with his free-throw shooting.

Stoudamire has already broken the UA record by converting his last 35 free throws and is 14 shy of the Pac-10 record set last season by Stanford's Ryan Mendez.

If ASU hopes to win, it will likely want to rely on dominance on the boards.

The Sun Devils have enjoyed a plus-4 rebounding advantage over their opponents so far this season, while the Wildcats have been out-rebounded in three of the last four games.