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Arizona looks to solidify its hold on first place in the Pac-10 with a trip to Washington and Washington State this week.

Arizona (12-9, 6-3 Pac-10) opens the second half of the Pac-10 slate on the road at Washington (14-7, 4-5 Pac-10) Thursday in Seattle. The Wildcats, who have won a season-best four consecutive games, find themselves with a share of the conference lead and a bit more of the spotlight.

Expect an up-and-down affair as the match-up features a pair of clubs who rank second and third in scoring offense in the conference. The two teams also have averaged nearly 171 combined points in the last five meetings at Bank of America Arena, where the losing team has failed to score 75 points just once. The Cats are 2-3 in its last five trips to Seattle with those games having been decided by an average of 6.4 points.

Last Sunday, senior guard Nic Wise equaled his career high of 30 points in a 76-72 win Sunday over California. Wise single-handedly outscored the Golden Bears, 7-3, in the final 53 seconds to provide the winning margin. Defensively, Arizona limited Cal to just 37.7 percent shooting from the floor and forced 12 turnovers and received timely contributions from just about everyone who saw action. Derrick Williams registered his second double-double of the season; Lamont Jones chipped in with 10 points.

The Huskies, led by senior forward Quincy Poindexter and sophomore guard Isaiah Thomas, beat in-state rival Washington State, 92-64, on Saturday. On the season, Washington averages 81.4 points per game, shoots 44.7 percent from the field and 71.8 percent from the line. 

Individually, two Washington players average in double figures, led by Quincy Pondexter, and who also leads the team in rebounding.

This is the 67th meeting of the two schools with Arizona holding a 43-24 series advantage and seven of the last 12 in the series, including the Cats' 84-70 win in Tucson on Jan. 10. It was Arizona's first win over a ranked opponent. 

Wise earned Pac-10 Player-of-the-Week honors by leading Arizona to its fourth win in a row and its first conference weekend sweep by averaging 22.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the games against Stanford and Cal. The senior guard connected on five-of-10 three-point shots, 19-of-21 free throws and five steals.

Freshman forward Derrick Williams posted his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds against California. On the season, Williams averages 15.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per contest, while shooting 57.4 percent (108-of-188) from the field.

Kevin Parrom put forth a solid all-around effort against California with six points, seven rebounds and season-best totals of five assists and two blocks in 30 minutes. Lamont Jones connected with 10 points, three rebounds and an assist in 17 minutes.  

Sunday's win evened Arizona record to 4-4 this year in games decided by five points or less. In a related note, Arizona has proven to be efficient in closing out games, as the Wildcats are 11-1 this year when tied or leading with five minutes remaining in the second half.

Even though Arizona is averaging 73.0 points per game in Pac-10 play (0.4 points higher than the overall scoring offense), it's been defensive improvement that has been most notable, as the Wildcats are allowing 65.8 points per game in league play, a figure that is 4.9 points lower than the overall scoring defense. Additionally, Arizona's +7.2 scoring margin in Pac-10 play is the league's best.

The Cats also are making the most of their trips to the free throw line. In the last six outings Arizona has made 20 or more free throws. UA leads the Pac-10 with a .749 (387-of-517) free throw percentage.

UA travels across the state to Pullman to face Washington State on Saturday, Feb. 6. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Arizona and can be seen on FOX Sports Arizona.