UCLA NOTEBOOK: WEEK KEY FOR BRUINS.

Byline: Brian Dohn Staff Writer

Behind Stanford, there are six teams within two games of one another in the Pacific-10 Conference standings. Lumped in that mix, tied for fourth place and a game out of second, are UCLA and Arizona.

And although the conference's regular-season championship likely will go to Stanford (20-0, 11-0 Pac-10), the Bruins (10-9, 6-5 Pac-10) are eyeing a second-place finish and a No. 2 seed in next month's Pac-10 tournament. Whether they can attain that goal will likely be more clear after this week, in which they play at Arizona State tonight and at Arizona on Saturday.

``It's wide open,'' Bruins backup guard Jon Crispin said. ``We always talk about it. We all talk about how we're right there in it, but I don't think we understand that we really are. We're tied for (fourth), right there with everybody else. I really think Stanford is a very good team, but if we come out and play hard with the talent we have, I think we can beat anybody.

``We are right there. We play Stanford. We play Arizona. We're going to play Cal again. We've got all the opportunity in the world. This is what coach (Ben Howland) talked about, going into the Pac-10 Tournament with all the momentum in the world, and try to win it.''

Given the Bruins play each of the teams ahead of them - Stanford, Cal (11-9, 7-4) and Oregon (11-6, 6-4) - UCLA can control its future.

``We're human, so we do look at that type of stuff,'' point guard Cedric Bozeman said. ``If we take care of business, we should be fine.''

But Howland points to a tougher schedule in the second half of the Pac-10 season. UCLA plays five of its final seven conference games on the road, including a season-ending swing to the Pacific Northwest to face Oregon and Oregon State.

``We have a tough road ahead, literally and figuratively,'' Howland said.

--Morrison upgraded: UCLA guard Brian Morrison was upgraded to probable and is expected to play limited minutes during the Bruins' two-game swing through Arizona. Morrison, who is still wearing a protective walking boot, missed the last two games with a sprained right ankle.

--Feeding off T.J.: Howland was asked why senior T.J. Cummings was able to break his recent funk and play with more energy in last week's victory over Washington. Howland said he didn't know, but would like to.

Why so curious?

Well, Cummings posted double-doubles in points and rebounds in each of UCLA's past three victories. He has played in 15 games and is averaging 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in seven wins. Cummings is averaging 10.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in eight losses.

``Every game I play I feel like I want to get to the boards,'' Cummings said. ``I want to be tough on the boards. That's what my mindset is.''

--Breaking the zone: UCLA figures to see plenty of zone defenses despite handling Washington by shooting 62.5 percent from the field in the second half. The Bruins might not face zones as often, but if they do, the success against the Huskies might give them the confidence to beat the zone with dribble penetration or a pass to the high post.

``If you're patient,'' Howland said, ``a zone will break down and you'll get a very good, high-percentage shot, providing you can pass, catch and are able to dribble some.''

Brian Dohn, [phone]

brian.dohn(at)dailynews.com