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Arron Afflalo (left) and the Bruins are looking to avoid more heartbreak tonight when the two-los

When Josh Shipp’s desperation 3-pointer fell short, it was as if an unimaginable reality had finally come to pass.

On Jan. 6, UCLA finally lost its first game, at the hands of Aaron Brooks and Oregon.

But as No. 9 Oregon (19-2, 7-2 Pac-10) comes into Pauley Pavilion tonight to face No. 5 UCLA (18-2, 7-2), revenge is not at the forefront of the Bruins’ minds.

“It would have been,” junior guard Arron Afflalo said. “I was kind of looking forward to this game to avenge our one loss. But after Sunday ... now it’s just solely about winning the Pac-10.”

Tonight’s game is intriguing on many levels. It matches up two top-10 teams, is for sole possession of first place in the Pac-10, and features two top Pac-10 Player of the Year candidates: Afflalo and Oregon senior Brooks.

And as good as UCLA has been at home this season (11-0), Oregon has been nearly as impressive on the road. The Ducks are 7-1 away from Eugene and have beaten three top-25 teams – Georgetown, Arizona and Washington State – on the road.

For the season, the Ducks are 4-0 when facing a team in the top 25.

“They beat us, so they’re in first,” sophomore forward Josh Shipp said. “We felt we should have won that game (in Oregon) but we kind of let it slip away in the end. It’s important for us to go out and prove that we should have won that one.”

The Ducks will have a powerful weapon Thursday that they didn’t even have when they beat the Bruins the first time. Junior forward Malik Hairston, who is averaging 13 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, is expected to start for Oregon against UCLA. Hairston, a 6-foot-6-inch junior, is best known for his ability to score as a slasher. But in conference play, Hairston is shooting 57 percent from 3-point range as well. Hairston is also averaging 3.5 offensive rebounds per game.

“They’re a much better team with Hairston,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said.

If the last time the two teams met was any indication, the key for the Bruins will be slowing down Brooks.

Against UCLA, Brooks was absolutely dominant, sprinting past a normally strong defensive Bruin backcourt for easy baskets. Brooks, who has made 25 of his 45 3-point attempts in conference play, only attempted one 3-pointer (which he made) against UCLA the first time, but still put up a game-high 25 points.

“It starts with Aaron Brooks,” Howland said about Oregon’s improvement as a team this year. “There’s something that goes on sometimes as a senior when the light goes on and you realize this is it. ... They have not lost a road game with Aaron Brooks in the lineup.”

Still, it would probably be a mistake for the Bruins to focus solely on Brooks. Bryce Taylor, Hairston, Maarty Leunen and Tajuan Porter have all proven to be capable shooters and scorers this season and Brooks has done a good job of finding all of them when he gets into trouble.

“We’re concerned about the Oregon team, we’re not focused on one player,” sophomore forward/center Alfred Aboya said. “It’s true that he’s their best player, their leading scorer and all that, but our focus is on the whole team.”

While Oregon has attempted what is far and away a Pac-10-leading 518 3-pointers on the season, the Ducks did not beat the Bruins with 3-pointers in the first game.

In fact, UCLA attempted eight more 3-pointers than Oregon in that game. Rather, it was the Ducks’ attacking offense, quickness to the basket and transition game that gave the Bruins fits.

“The first game when we played them, we couldn’t stop their dribble penetration,” Aboya said. “They would just get up off their dribble and get to the rim. So the adjustment that we have to make is to stop that dribble penetration. Once we do that and force them to play half-court, I think we’ll have more of an advantage.”