Lute Olson's response to regaining the No.1 ranking yesterday was the same as it was when the team had it just four weeks ago.

"Frankly, we're not even close to number one yet in terms of how we're playing," the Hall of Fame UA head coach said about receiving all but five first place votes yesterday.

But after a 35-point win, completing a sweep of the Los Angeles schools for the first time in 10 years, a perfect 6-0 record in the Pacific 10 Conference, and its only loss by one point without one of its All-American candidates, this team is still not happy with the way it's playing?

"We still have a lot of areas where we need to improve," senior guard Jason Gardner said. "The guys know we could improve on the defensive end, and on the offensive end we could cut down on the turnovers and take better shots."

Entering what most Arizona players and coaches are calling the Wildcats' (13-1, 6-0) toughest week of games ÷ at home against Arizona State tomorrow and on the road at No. 6 Kansas Saturday ÷ it could be a very good barometer of where this team is halfway through the season.

But Olson's biggest concern is still getting everyone healthy.

Freshman Hassan Adams, who injured his right ankle in practice last week and re-injured it against USC, said he should be OK by tip-off tomorrow.

"It's hurting a little and I'm not going to practice (Monday)," said Adams, who played just 14 minutes against UCLA and walked around McKale Center yesterday with his ankle wrapped. "I had a lot of rehab on it when I was in Los Angeles. I just iced it right after the game and the whole plane ride back here."

The Wildcats are also going to hold senior Luke Walton out of practice today, as his injured ankle is still sore. Both Adams and Walton will work out in the conditioning room with the team trainer.

Overlooking ASU?

With Kansas just five days away, it could be easy to overlook Arizona State, a team that has only one winning season under ASU head coach Rob Evans.

But this isn't a typical ASU team. The Sun Devils are seven games over .500 and are playing their best basketball in years.

"This is far and away his best team since he has been there," said Olson about the fifth-year head coach. "We're not a team that is going to be looking ahead."

One big reason for ASU's success has been freshman Ike Diogu, the team's leader in points, at 18.4 per game.

"He is a serious threat, he's shooting very well from the line and the field," said Olson about the 6-foot-8-inch, 250 pound center. "He is a big body and posts up well. They really look for him a lot. Almost every time down they try to get him a touch."

UA sophomore center Channing Frye, a native of Phoenix, will get the call early covering Diogu.

"I'm not really going to focus on just me and him, I know people are going to hype this up being the battle of the big guys," Frye said. "I'm just going to go out there and play my game."

But Frye struggled against his hometown team in his freshman season, scoring just a combined 12 points in three games against the Sun Devils.

"I think when guys who are freshmen, who are playing against the team from their own city, that sometimes they try too hard instead of just letting the game come to them," Olson said.

Pressing issues

It's been a combination of both injuries and personnel that have been the reason for the Wildcats' lack of running their much-hyped full-court press lately.

Don't expect that to change either, in the next couple weeks.

"The press is really on the backburner right now," Olson said.

The problem with pressing is that Olson doesn't want to use it when Frye, Rick Anderson and Walton are on the court at the same time, and all three of them start the game together.

Plus, with sophomore Salim Stoudamire still not 100 percent from his early ankle injury, Olson would rather just continue playing half-court defense than take away from Stoudamire offensively.

"USC was not that effective with the press against Arizona State," said Olson about the Sun Devils' last opponent, and the Wildcats' next.

Arizona pressed USC and UCLA only a handful of times last week, but just making teams that will have to prepare for the press is a plus for Arizona, associate head coach Jim Rosborough said.