The team won't resume practice until Wednesday and won't play again until three days after that, when Arizona State comes to Tucson.

The layoff is especially good news for Loren Woods, who sat out Saturday's 99-84 victory over the Bruins because of back spasms that have bothered him for three weeks.

"The key with Loren is that we have the rest of the week to rest him," Olson said. "It is just a case where we need to continue to treat his back and try to get him healthy. It is going to be critical to have him ready for the ASU game because of his ability to change people's shots."

The Wildcats (23-4, 12-1 Pac-10) didn't need their 7-foot center against fading UCLA, which has lost six of seven and stayed with Arizona for only 10 minutes before falling far behind.

It was much easier than expected for Olson, who didn't know Woods wouldn't play until shortly before tipoff.

"It was more than a little scary when we found that Loren was not going to be available for the game," Olson said. "I think everyone stepped up, and we did a nice job defensively, and I was pleased that we had six guys in double figures."

Especially since six guys were all that Olson had to count on among his regulars, because Richard Jefferson remains out while recovering from a broken foot. He hopes to be back for next week's road trip to Oregon and Oregon State.

Justin Wessel, a 6-foot-8 forward, started in place of Woods and had a strong game. He scored 12 points, including 10-of-10 from the free-throw line, and played strong position defense that helped prevent UCLA from getting the ball inside in the first half.

Wessel wasn't told he was starting until just before the game but had an inkling it might happen because Woods hadn't been able to practice all week.

"All that this team has been through so far, this was just another thing," Wessel said. "I was excited. We just had to lean on each other, and that's what we did."

Arizona buried UCLA (13-11, 4-8) with a quick, harassing defense that allowed the Wildcats to build a 51-30 halftime lead. The Bruins committed 17 turnovers in the first half. Arizona point guard Jason Gardner had all seven of his steals in the first 20 minutes.

"This game was lost for us in the first half," embattled UCLA coach Steve Lavin said. "The poise and composure was not there on our part today."

Gardner finished the game with 16 points and 11 assists and did not commit a turnover in 39 minutes.

"He did everything that a guy could do," Olson said. "He ran the club. He didn't force things. Other guys could score more points than he did today, but no one could play any better than he did."

Gilbert Arenas scored 23, Michael Wright 22, Rick Anderson 12 and Luke Walton 11 for Arizona.

Freshman Jason Kapono matched his high game with 27 points for UCLA, which saw its NCAA tournament hopes severely damaged, if not ruined, by one-sided losses at Arizona State and Arizona.

Center Dan Gadzuric scored 17, but 15 were in the second half when UCLA never got closer than 15 until the final few seconds.

The Bruins left the McKale Center court with chants of "NIT, NIT" ringing in their ears.