EARLY PAC-10 SHOWDOWN IN TUCSON.

Byline: BRIAN DOHN

It is a terribly down year for the Pacific-10 Conference, but one of the two must-see matchups takes place Saturday in Tucson, Ariz. And it could give either Stanford or Arizona an early edge for a No. 1 seed at the NCAA Tournament.

The fourth-ranked Cardinal (11-0) has won the past three at Arizona, making it the only team to beat Wildcats coach Lute Olson three consecutive times on his home court.

And leave it to rival Arizona State coach Rob Evans to add some flavor.

After the Sun Devils were destroyed by third-ranked Arizona last week, Evans was asked to rate Olson's group.

``The team we play next is better than this team,'' said Evans, whose team will host Stanford today.

Stanford and Arizona, clearly the class of the Pac-10 with a number of other teams fighting for the distinction of being a distant third, both are adjusting to recent roster changes.

Stanford's Chris Hernandez has battled back problems all season and likely will continue to do so. But the player the Cardinal is trying to get back into the rotation is Josh Childress.

Childress made his debut last weekend in a sweep of the Washington schools. But after an impressive debut in which he scored 10 points in seven minutes against Washington State, Childress was sluggish in scoring four points in 13 minutes against Washington.

Still, Stanford has beaten then-No. 1 Kansas in the Wooden Classic and defeated a formidable Gonzaga squad.

``I think we have probably played a little better (than expected), more consistently, particularly without Childress,'' Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. ``But I think we're a little overrated right now.''

Stanford has won the past three games at McKale Center - 85-76, 76-71 and 82-77 - and rebounding was a huge key. Stanford held a 123-105 edge, which should be tested this weekend.

Although Olson said he wanted his team to be more committed to rebounding, the Wildcats are grabbing their share, averaging 45 a game compared to 38 for Stanford.

Arizona also has tremendous balance with Hassan Adams (17.6 points, 7.4 rebounds), Channing Frye (14.9 ppg, 8.1 rpg) and newcomer Ivan Radenovic, who has played three games and is receiving minutes after becoming eligible after the first semester.

``They're far and away the most experienced team in the league,'' Olson said of Stanford. ``When you look at them, you don't see any weaknesses.''

--Indiana's ills: Mike Davis should have job security as Indiana's coach after leading the Hoosiers to an unexpected spot in the 2002 national-title game. But it is getting ugly in Bloomington.

Indiana (6-6) was embarrassed again Tuesday, losing by 34 points to Wisconsin in what has turned into a year of blowout losses. The 79-45 loss to the Badgers represented the third time this season Indiana has lost by at least 33 points.

Indiana was pummeled by Wake Forest 100-67 and humiliated by Kentucky 80-41. The Hoosiers' other losses were to Missouri, Temple and Vanderbilt.

But the losing is more than just a recent trend. After beginning last season 14-3, Indiana finished 7-10, making the Hoosiers 13-16 in their past 29 games.

--Look into the light: Athletic directors and coaches around the country had maintenance workers checking arenas to make sure buzzer sounds and the light on the backboard goes on the moment a clock hits 0:00.0.

That wasn't the case in Texas' crazy 79-77 victory at Providence, and it created quite a stir. The problem came after P.J. Tucker drove the length of the court and scored on a finger roll. No call was made and the referees went to the replay monitors, and made the right call.

From side-angle replays, the ball was out of Tucker's possession before the light went on. It took 10 minutes or so to get the call right, but that is what happened.

``In our game, 00 doesn't end the game,'' referee Tim Higgins said in a statement afterward. ``Game ends with horn or light.''

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