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Since November, Kevin O'Neill has installed a new offensive system, made constant adjustments to compensate for injuries and drilled man-to-man defensive principles into the Arizona Wildcats' heads.

But when it comes to guard Jerryd Bayless, O'Neill has found one simple instruction works best.

"I go to him and say, 'C'mon. You gotta just go, man,'" O'Neill said. "That's not really coaching. I don't know what 'just go' means, to be honest with you. It means you've got to go get some baskets."

O'Neill first asked his precocious freshman to do so when UA was trailing Texas A&M by 20 points in the first half Dec. 2. Bayless responded by scoring 26 points in the Wildcats' 78-67 win.

Then, O'Neill asked Bayless again to dig deeper once point guard Nic Wise was lost to a knee injury two weeks ago. In three games since then, Bayless has scored 103 points, the highest three-game total for a UA player in more than three decades.

Bayless also is supposed to play point guard and forget about the fact that this is his first season of college basketball. So if he makes a few mistakes, taking some bad shots and overpenetrating, as he did sometimes against Stanford, O'Neill said, there is room for forgiveness.

"Think of what we're asking this guy to do," O'Neill said. "We're asking him to be unbelievably aggressive on every play — and he's a freshman."

It helps, of course, that Bayless averaged 33.2 points a game for Phoenix St. Mary's High School last season.

"The pressure doesn't get to me," Bayless said. "I've been doing it since high school. It's not anything new."

O'Neill and senior guard Jawann McClellan indicated confidence that the Wildcats would get into the NCAA tournament field with a 9-9 conference record.

McClellan, who said last week that an 8-10 record might even do it because of the Wildcats' tough nonconference schedule, said the Wildcats could even catch fire like third-seeded Oregon did last season.

"I'm not worried about us getting in the tournament," McClellan said. "It's just about getting enough wins to help our seed."

● O'Neill said his only problem with the officiating during UA's 67-66 loss to Stanford was "a different tone from the first half to the second half." Officials called 12 fouls in the first half and 26 in the second.

● Wise and Bret Brielmaier (shoulder) will not play again this week. Jamelle Horne said he felt only minor knee pain after starting both games last weekend.

● Arizona's March 6 game at Oregon State has been set for 7 p.m. Tucson time. It will be televised on Fox Sports Arizona.

● Arizona's top signee, guard Brandon Jennings, was named to the McDonald's All-American Game roster Tuesday.