Mbah a Moute to sit out game against Arizona

UCLA, already braced for a talented Arizona team that is trying to recover after losing three of its last four games, learned Friday it will have to face the Wildcats without forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, who will sit out the game because of a sprained right knee.

That makes today’s game at Pauley Pavilion all the more difficult, with both teams trying to hold their ground in the tightly contested Pacific 10 Conference.

Third-ranked UCLA had a bit of trouble with last-place Arizona State on Thursday, trailing by 11 before winning by 10. But the Bruins are still tied with Oregon for first place in the Pac-10 at 5-1.

Arizona is in more dire straits. The Wildcats are No. 11 in the nation -- at least for a while longer -- but they are sixth in the Pac-10 with a 4-3 record after losing to USC on Thursday.

“It’s going to give them another reason why they should be motivated for this game,” UCLA point guard Darren Collison said. “Every team that has lost in this conference has something to prove the next game.

“We just can’t let down.”

Mbah a Moute injured his knee during the Arizona State game, a UCLA spokesman said Friday night, but he finished with two points and 14 rebounds.

His status beyond today is uncertain, but his absence will affect the Bruins as they try to contain a versatile Arizona offense.

The most difficult matchup might prove to be 6-foot-10 Ivan Radenovic, a European-style inside-outside player far from the brawny mold of UCLA center Lorenzo Mata.

Arizona, which lost Sunday to Oregon, will be trying to avoid a three-game losing streak for the first time since North Carolina, USC and UCLA defeated the Wildcats last season -- only the second three-game losing streak of Coach Lute Olson’s 24-season career at Arizona.

Instead of giving the Wildcat players pizza after the loss to USC, Olson made them watch the first half again.

“Rather than eat, I thought they deserved to watch 12 turnovers,” Olson told reporters, referring to the Wildcats’ first-half total. “They had their own bakery of turnovers.”

He also alluded to the razor-thin margin in the Pac-10.

“The team we played last night is as good as the team we play on Saturday,” he said Friday, adding that he thought “SC should have won that game,” a reference to the Bruins’ one-point victory over USC last week.

“The reason UCLA won it is they are used to winning. SC is not used to winning.”

UCLA is used to winning against Arizona, at least in the very recent past. The Bruins went 3-0 against the Wildcats last season for the first time -- though that statistic is diminished because they haven’t often met three times and former Arizona star Hassan Adams didn’t play in last season’s Pac-10 tournament game.

“We had a pretty good record against them last year and want to keep that going,” UCLA guard Arron Afflalo said.

The keys to today’s game seem simple. Arizona is an offense-oriented team that has been struggling offensively in an increasingly defense-oriented league, failing to reach 80 points in each of the last three losses.

“This is a huge game,” UCLA Coach Ben Howland said. “For us and for them. It always will be when Arizona and UCLA meet.”

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TODAY

vs. Arizona, 1 p.m., FSN Prime Ticket

Site -- Pauley Pavilion.

Radio -- 570.

Records --UCLA 16-1, 5-1 in Pacific 10, Arizona 13-4, 4-3.

Update -- UCLA has faced double-digit deficits in three consecutive games, coming back to win twice. Arizona forward Marcus Williams averages 18.5 points a game, one of five Wildcats starters in double figures.

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robyn.norwood@latimes.com