CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat All-Conference performer Luke Walton backs down Pac-10 Player of the Year Luke Ridnour of Oregon during UA's eight-point win over Oregon last weekend at McKale Center. Walton, who has been hamped throughout the season with ankle problems, injured his left ankle in practice this week. Assistant coach Josh Pastner said it is a mild ankle sprain and Walton will be used as need this weekend.

UA's tournament title defense starts today with UCLA

Playing 27 games over the course of the regular season is fine with head coach Lute Olson. Adding three more to the schedule just before the NCAA tournament isn't.

The idea of potentially playing an additional three games in the Pacific-10 Conference Tournament, less than a week before March Madness begins, is something that Olson said he is not to fond of.

"I still dislike it," said Olson about the conference tournament that begins today at 2:20 p.m. MST at Staples Center in Los Angeles. "We'll be there because it's the vote of the conference and we'll try to win it as we did last year. I personally think 18 games in conference is enough."

The top-ranked Wildcats (25-2 overall, 17-1 Pac-10) have all but locked up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so playing in the conference tournament will be more about pride then anything else.

Game Info: Who: UCLA vs. UA When: 2:20 p.m. MST Where: Staples Center TV: Fox Sports Net Players to Watch: UCLA - Ray Young; UA - Jason Gardner

UA's first-round opponent is UCLA (9-18, 6-12), a team that it beat by a combined 71 points om two regular season games, but that doesn't mean the Wildcats won't have much to play for.

After Arizona crushed the Bruins 106-70 in Tucson, UCLA players said if they have a chance to play the Wildcats again they feel they win.

The Wildcats took the comments personally, and this afternoon, they will be looking to persuade the Bruins to rethink what they wished for.

"After they left here, a couple of guys said that if they had us again, they could beat us," UA guard Jason Gardner. "That's something that's going to be locker room talk for us.

"They are playing well right now, and I don't think Coach Olson is going to allow any slipping this week."

Tonight's game could spell the end for UCLA head coach Steve Lavin. Despite a great post-season record for his career, this year's Bruins don't have much of a shot at playing past this weekend, with Lavin expecting to be let go at season's end.

However, Olson said UCLA is a much different team from the one it saw in Tucson because it has switched Ray Young, a man who has excelled while running the show for the Bruins, to point guard.

In UCLA's last two games, Young has averaged 27 points per game, and Olson realizes the matchup problems when you have such a scoring threat at the point position.

"It changes how you defend them because Ray is a very different guard from (Cedric) Bozeman," Olson said. "He's a guy that's looking to score, and that will make a difference in how we approach things defensively. He scored 54 points in the last two games, which indicates you'd better pay some attention to him."

The Wildcats may have assured themselves a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but Arizona is still on the prowl for its second consecutive Pac-10 tournament title, and the team realizes how important it is to keep winning as it heads into the postseason.

"We just got our rings from last year, so the freshmen definitely want to get one," said Gardner after the team received the rings at their postseason banquet. "For myself, Luke (Walton) and Rick (Anderson), it's our last go-around, so we really want to play well. Even if it may not matter if we win or lose (for NCAA seeding), I don't think any of our guys want to lose any games. It is something that can get us ready for the NCAA Tournament."

Walton expected to play after spraining ankle again

UA was the only squad in the eight-team field to not attend media day yesterday. Olson had the team practice in Tucson yesterday in order for the players to attend one more day's worth of classes before heading to Los Angeles.

During practice, Walton had a mild sprain to his left ankle and was wearing a protective boot as a precautionary measure. Walton missed significant time earlier this season due to ankle injuries, but the setback shouldn't keep him out of action this weekend.

UA assistant coach Josh Pastner said that Walton should be ready to go against UCLA, but that the Wildcats will use him no more than he is needed throughout the weekend.

Writers name UA's Gardner District 9 player of the year

Gardner was named the District 9 Player of the Year yesterday by the United States Basketball Writers Association.

This is the third time Gardner was selected as one of the 10 players named to the USBWA all-District 9 team, which covers the states of California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Arizona and Alaska.

Joining Gardner on the squad are: Julius Barnes, Stanford; Tony Bland, San Diego State; Ike Diogu, Arizona State; Carl English, Hawaii; Jason Keep, San Diego; Luke Ridnour, Oregon; Philip Ricci, Oregon State; Joe Shipp, California; and Blake Stepp, Gonzaga. Stanford's Mike Montgomery was named District 9 Coach of the Year.