This year there will be no guarantees.

When Arizona traveled to Oregon to face the Beavers and Ducks last season, Wildcat senior guard Damon Stoudamire, a product of Portland's Wilson High School, boldly assured he would lead his team to victory in both games and thus complete a four-season sweep of the schools.

The first-team All-American was true to his word, but while Arizona has not lost to an Oregon school since 1991 - 20 straight wins - this year's team is not pressing its luck.

No. 13 Arizona (13-3 overall, 3-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference) faces Oregon State tonight at 8:05 p.m. Tucson time and Oregon Saturday. There is no television coverage of tonight's game; however, it will be broadcasted on KNST (AM 790).

When asked if he was predicting anything, point guard Reggie Geary said, "I don't know about that - I'm not from Oregon. I just guarantee we'll show up and be ready to play."

Not that any assurances are needed against this Oregon State team. The Beavers (3-11, 1-4) were supposed to be bad this year with only four lettermen and one starter returning, but not this bad.

How bad are they? Try a 79-74 defeat Jan. 3 at the hands of Montana State University-Billings. The Yellow Jackets are of course out of the Division II Pacific West Conference.

The closest person OSU has to a marquee player is, well, Markee Brown, a junior guard who is third on the team in scoring at 8.6 points a game. The scary thing for the Beavers is that Brown, who is 6 feet, 210 pounds, leads the team in rebounding with 4.6 a game.

The Beavers' two post men, 6-6, 202-pound sophomore Sonny Benjamin and 6-7, 200-pound freshman Iyan Walker combine for 7.6 rebounds a game. Arizona forward Ben Davis averages 8.9 rebounds on his own. OSU is last in the conference with 30 rebounds a game, while Arizona averages 40.4.

In the understatement of the season, UA head coach Lute Olson said the Beavers might have to adapt to Arizona's size in the middle. The Wildcats will start the 6-8, 255-pound Davis and 6-7, 210-pound Corey Williams and bring 6-10, 265 A.J. Bramlett off the bench.

"They play without a post man and they do things offensively with the middle open," Olson said. "With Ben inside, I'm not sure how they will respond to it. Maybe they'll get more size inside."

In addition to J.D. Vetter, the lone returning starter who is second on the team with 8.9 points, Rob Williams might be the only offensive threat for the Beavers. The 6-3, 187-pound sophomore from famed DeMatha High School in Washington, D.C., leads the Beavers with 10.9 points a game.

"Rob Williams is one of the few, if only, players on our team who can go out and create a shot," OSU coach Eddie Payne said. "When we get more talent around him I think he'll be more effective."

The last time the Wildcats were on the court, they polished off UCLA 88-79 in an emotional, intense game. While a letdown could be expected against OSU, the Wildcats are in no position to take anyone lightly.

"I think it's very important we understand that even with the UCLA game, we're still behind some teams who are awfully good," Olson said. At 3-2, Arizona is tied for fourth in the conference with Washington, and is a game and a half behind UCLA and Cal at 5-1.

While the Beavers are not a top-flight team, they do pose some problems.

"Those are the scary teams right there," Geary said. "Last year Damon got in some foul trouble up there and I came in as point guard and they harassed me the whole game. I didn't perform too well, so we're looking to be pressed all game."

Payne has been realistic about the situation in Corvallis since he took the job April 7. He expected a tough season, and said he hopes to surprise teams which look past OSU.

"We're a little thinner than we thought we'd be," Payne said. "Hopefully we can catch someone else napping as we move through the schedule."