All of the players know it.

Coach Ben Howland knows it.

If No. 5 UCLA is going to handle business against visiting Arizona State tonight, it is going to have to overcome its issues against the zone defense, and it will have to do so against one of the tougher ones around.

All season long the Bruins (18-2, 6-1 Pac-10) have had trouble on offense against the zone, often rushing possessions and getting less than ideal shots.

Sun Devils coach Herb Sendek and his players will not make things any easier for the Bruins.

Arizona State (14-5, 4-3 Pac-10) represents a significant challenge, playing an aggressive 3-2 zone that can frustrate the offense with the amount of ball pressure.

”That’s probably the best zone I’ve seen all the season,” guard Darren Collison said. “It’s going to be real tough for us. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

The main challenge for the Bruins will be to get the ball in to the high post. The Sun Devils’ overactive zone gets into the passing lanes and makes it tough for guards to find the big men up top where they can distribute the ball.

“It’s hard (because with) the zone, that’s the main focus,” forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute said. “If you get the ball to the high post, then everybody collapses and it’s easy to make plays. You’ve just got to work harder, moving faster, cutting hard, set screens, whatever you’ve got to do.”

Mbah a Moute and center Kevin Love will be the key inside players at the high post for UCLA, opening up the offense if they are able to get the ball. Getting the two open to receive passes from the guards has been one of the main points of emphasis on the practice court.

“That’s a focus for us in practice,” Love said. “Because in earlier games when teams played zone against us it was tough to get us into the high post. ... I need to get up there so I can find guys, swing the ball to the opposite side, find Alfred (Aboya), Luc in the post, or kick it right back out to Josh (Shipp) for the 3.”

With opposing defenses constantly going to the zone to try and throw off the Bruins’ offensive tempo, Howland’s team seems to be catching on. The team’s play during the weekend at the Oregon schools showed marked improvement. Both Collison and guard Russell Westbrook noted they felt much more comfortable playing against the zone than earlier in the year.

“This last week in Oregon, this is the first time we actually controlled the tempo,” Collison said. “We weren’t rushing our shots. (At the) ’SC (game), we were rushing shots 20-25 seconds in the shot clock. Against Arizona State, we’ve got to be a lot more patient and take our time.”

At the other end of the court, the Bruins have a big task in trying to contain freshman guard James Harden. The true freshman has been putting up big numbers, averaging 18.8 points per game and garnering a lot of attention.

“Harden is one of the best players in the conference,” Howland said. “Look at his numbers and what he’s been able to accomplish, as a true freshman; it’s really astounding.”

Harden and his fellow freshman guards are signs of health for of the basketball resurgence in Tempe, Ariz. Whereas in past seasons the Arizona State game represented a potential pitfall before playing Arizona, this year the situation is different.

“They’re really good,” Howland said. “They’re an outstanding team, like many teams in our league, like us included, fighting for an NCAA berth.”

After losing three in a row, including their most recent one-point loss to No. 9 Washington State, which put them at 4-3 in-conference, the Sun Devils come into Westwood hungry to turn around their recent streak with a win.

The Sun Devils will turn to junior forward Jeff Pendergraph to have a big game at Pauley. Pendergraph, a former high school teammate of Collison’s at Etiwanda High School, is the veteran acting as anchor in the up and coming program.

While Collison is happy about his friend’s success, he still wants to keep his perfect collegiate record against his former teammate.

“I can’t lose to him,” Collison said. “I’m real proud of him, the way he took his team on his shoulders. I know he was struggling a little bit last year, and now this year he sees brighter days, so I’m real proud of him for overcoming all that. I’m looking forward to playing against him, but I can’t lose to him – cannot.”