It's real simple.

If the Arizona men's basketball team beats UCLA tonight, the Wildcats will move into a tie with Bruins for first place and have a shot at winning the Pacific 10 Conference title for the eighth time in the last 11 years. If UA loses, the only thing they'll be fighting for is second place.

"If we don't get them tonight, I don't think anyone can," UA head coach Lute Olson said about the Bruins. "And even if we get them, they're still in the drivers seat because of their schedule. But if we don't get them, the race is for second."

"If we want to win the Pac-10 we must win this game," point guard Reggie Geary said.

Such is life in the Pac-10, where every year it seems both the Bruins and Wildcats fight it out for first place. No other conference team has won a Pac-10 title since Washington did it in 1985.

"In every case if it was not us, it was them, and if we won it the team we had to beat was UCLA," Olson said.

The Bruins' 67-66 loss to Stanford last weekend puts the Cardinal and Wildcats just one game behind the No. 18 Bruins. A UA win tonight would give the Wildcats a season sweep of UCLA, following an 88-79 win in Tucson Jan. 20.

In that game, the Wildcats set season highs shooting 65 percent from the 3-point line, making 13 of them. They shot 51.7 percent overall.

"One adjustment we're going to make is hope they don't shoot the ball as well this time," UCLA assistant coach Lorenzo Romar said.

With their height - all five Bruins starters are over 6-foot-5 - the Bruins present numerous problems for Arizona, not the least of which is rebounding.

UA tied a season low with seven offensive rebounds against the Bruins at McKale Center. UCLA outrebounded Arizona 37-31 in that game and leads the conference with an average of 39.5 rebounds a game. All Bruin starters average 4.1 rebounds or better, led by J. R. Henderson's 7.2 a game. While UA is second in the Pac-10 at 39.1 rebounds a game, forward Ben Davis dominates with a 9.1 rebound average.

Olson has been critical of the rebounding production he has received from his guards and wingmen, but said that statistic would determine the outcome.

"If we can't get good rebounding out of Miles Simon, Michael Dickerson and Joe McLean, it's a next to impossible task - it's been the weakest part of our defense," Olson said. "Simon and Dickerson will need between five and six rebounds each. That's not an impossible task, both are quick enough jumpers."

McLean will be matched up with 6-5 guard Kris Johnson, who acts more like a forward with his physical play around the basket.

Johnson averages 12.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. McLean said he will draw upon his success last Sunday against Cincinnati's 6-9, 260-pound forward Danny Fortson for an edge. McLean helped hold Fortson to nine points and five rebounds (Fortson averages 21 points and 10 rebounds).

"Kris Johnson has had a tremendous year," McLean said. "He's tough, but going up against Fortson will help me in this game."

The Bruins are best in an up-and-down type game because of their athleticism. The task for Arizona will be to slow them down.

"They like open court games, they don't really like to sit down and play defense and a half court offense," forward Corey Williams said. "We want to make them play defense, make them play fundamental basketball."