GREG BRYAN / arizona daily star

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LOS ANGELES — For the Arizona Wildcats, the highlight of their 87-56 first-round Pac-10 tournament win over Oregon State on Wednesday night was not 71 percent first-half shooting.

Nor was it Nic Wise's five steals, nor Jerryd Bayless' emphatic dunks, nor the rainstorm of eight three-pointers before halftime.

It was the sight of Wise sitting down to rest for good, his recently mended left knee getting iced, with 12:24 left in the game at Staples Center.

And it was the fact that Jawann McClellan sat down on the bench with 7:40 to go in the first half, able to rest his knees until the second half. It was also that Jordan Hill totaled just 22 minutes, and Chase Budinger had just 25.

Because if Arizona is going to beat Stanford tonight in the Pac-10 quarterfinals — a win it may need to ensure a 24th straight NCAA tournament berth — the thin Wildcats need all the strength they can get.

"It was great our guys got a chance to rest," UA interim head coach Kevin O'Neill said. "Both these guys (Wise and Bayless) are going to play upwards of 38 to 40 tomorrow night, and that's if we don't go overtime. So it's great they get a chance to rest and get off their feet. And it's great that it's a late game again (tonight), so that gives us all day to rest."

O'Neill, known for leaning heavily on his starters all season, played none of them longer than the 29 minutes he gave Bayless on Wednesday.

The way Wise described it, the Wildcats had a sense of urgency Wednesday not just to keep their NCAA tournament hopes alive but also to get off the floor as soon as possible.

"It's going to be a harder game" against Stanford, Wise said. "So we wanted to get a big lead so our starters could get out."

The plan could not have worked out much better. Arizona jumped on Oregon State for the second time in seven days, leading the Beavers 32-8 less than 10 minutes into the game and coasted from there. The Wildcats made 8 of 11 three-point attempts in the first half, shooting 71 percent from the field overall while building a 59-21 halftime lead.

The first-half total was the most the Wildcats have scored in a half all season, and more than they have scored in four full games.

"We weren't expecting to get rest; we just wanted to come out and play a good game," McClellan said. "We needed some wins to help our NCAA chances and we got that tonight."

The win kept those chances alive by moving Arizona to 19-13. Oregon State finished its season at 6-25, having failed to win any of its 19 games against Pac-10 teams. Arizona also has a chance to win 20 games for the 21st straight season tonight.

But the Wildcats still have only 18 Division I wins and have lost twice to Pac-10 bubble teams Oregon and ASU, so a win tonight against Stanford may be necessary to ensure an at-large bid. Arizona lost two close regular-season games to the Cardinal.

"They're a great team," Bayless said of Stanford. "Everybody on our whole team knows how well we have to play. We're going to come out, play hard and move the ball. Hopefully, the outcome will be a little different this time."

The Wildcats have reason to believe they can knock off the Cardinal.

Stanford has struggled in past Pac-10 tournaments, going 4-5 with four first-game exits, since the tournament was revived in 2002. In addition, the Wildcats lost twice to Stanford this season by a total of only five points, including a 67-66 loss on Feb. 16 at McKale when Wise was still recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Wise returned last week at Oregon State, playing 34 minutes in a blowout 81-45 win, but had a day of rest before the Wildcats faced Oregon on Saturday. He then logged another 40 against the Ducks.

Wise and the Wildcats have little time to rest this week, so their minutes played nearly became more critical than points scored Wednesday. Hill led the Wildcats with 16 points, while Bayless and Wise each had 15.

Late in the first half, O'Neill began resting his starters. He pulled McClellan for Daniel Dillon with 7:40 to go in the half and sat down Hill with 5:44 left when he went with Bret Brielmaier and Zane Johnson.

With 1:42 left in the first half, Wise departed and he played less than eight more minutes in the second half.

"I wanted us to get a good lead so I could get out before it swells up," said Wise, adding that he still feels pain "here and there."

Budinger and Hill joined Wise in heading to the bench for good with the UA leading 75-37 with 12:24 left, while Johnson, Dillon and Kirk Walters received some work.

With nine minutes left, not a single UA starter remained on the court and Dillon played point guard. By the end of the game, the seldom-used Mohamed Tangara and David Bagga were playing.