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Arizona returns home for 3 straight Pac-10 games

The UA men's basketball team returns home for a three-game homestand at McKale Center beginning tomorrow against USC, but freshman guard Gilbert Arenas might not be thrilled about that.

"Really, I feel too comfortable here," he said. "I like playing on the road, actually."

In Arizona's (21-4 overall, 10-1 in the Pacific 10 Conference) win last Saturday's at Washington State, Arenas tied a career-high with 24 points on 11-for-14 shooting.

"I like yelling, and here they don't yell that much," Arenas said. "You hear a couple people here and there, but I like when we go to other schools, a lot of kids are yelling at you."

The rest of the team, however, is happy to play at home.

"It's good," freshman guard Jason Gardner said. "We've got the crowd support, with my mom right there in the crowd, being at home with the team. Practicing back here, it's a confidence boost for the team."

With five of the last seven games of the season at McKale, including games against USC, UCLA, Arizona State and Stanford, Arizona holds the advantage down the stretch of the Pac-10 season.

"Being back home, it gives you a lot of confidence," sophomore forward Michael Wright said. "You got a lot of hype, you hit your shots here and you've got the crowd with you, not against you."

Junior center Loren Woods has been suffering from back spasms recently and has been limited in physical activity.

Woods was bothered by the spasms against the Washington schools, but played through the pain. He will play this weekend against USC and UCLA.

"I think it's better, and it will get better as we stay home for a while," UA head coach Lute Olson said. "We'll limit the things he does."

Woods was not available for comment at yesterday's press conference, but has been receiving treatment three times a week.

"It was much better Saturday than it was Thursday, and it's better today than it was Sunday," Olson said. "It's not something we can expect to improve quickly. It's going to be a day-by-day thing."

Meanwhile, junior guard John Ash, who did not make the trip to the Pacific Northwest because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee Feb. 5 against Oregon State, is questionable for this weekend.

Olson is not worried about Jason Gardner's recent shooting slump, saying the freshman guard continues to improve every game.

Gardner often plays the entire game at point guard, and has cut his turnovers down and improved his assist count. He had seven points on 2-for-4 shooting against Washington State.

"The thing with Jason is that he knows there is more to the game than just shooting the ball," Olson said. "He knows he's our primary ball-handler

"He still defends well, he's taking care of the ball. Jason has such a steady demeanor."

Perhaps the most impressive statistic is Gardner's clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, no matter how many minutes he's played or how many points he's scored.

In the final five minutes of this season's games, Gardner is 30-for-36 (83.3-percent) from the line.