Victory Against First-Place Arizona Would Tie Up Race

There are no must-win games until tournament time, but there is a lot riding on UCLA’s matchup against Arizona on Thursday at Pauley Pavilion.

Arizona, 10-3 in the Pacific 10 Conference, holds a 11/2-game lead over UCLA and three other teams that are all 8-4. Oregon is in second at 9-4 and one game behind the Wildcats.

If the Bruins lose, they fall two games behind Arizona in the loss column. If they win--and USC, California and Stanford all win, as expected--a half-game will separate six teams, and all would have four losses.

“We have just as good a team as Arizona,” Bruin guard Rico Hines said. “We will come out and play hard.”

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Junior forward Jason Kapono is one of 20 finalists for the Naismith award, given to the nation’s top player as voted by coaches, writers and administrators.

Kapono also was named to an All-District team by the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches, which selects 150 players in 15 districts nationwide to become eligible for its All-American team. Senior forward Matt Barnes was named to the second team.

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UCLA’s home game against Arizona State on Saturday will begin at 12:30 p.m., a half-hour later than originally scheduled.

Steve Henson