Gonzaga coach Mark Few hadn't been off the court long over the weekend when the focus turned to preparing for the 14th-ranked Bulldogs' matchup with a ranked opponent days after Christmas.
The good news was he could start thinking about it after a win, unlike UCLA's Mick Cronin — whose No. 22 Bruins face Gonzaga on Saturday in a home-state venue in the only ranked-vs-ranked game of the week on the AP Top 25 schedule.
"It's a good series for us," Few said after Saturday's win against Bucknell. "It's certainly what TV wants to see, fans want to see. And this year it's another one of those high-level games that'll help (NCAA Tournament) seeding and all that. It doesn't hurt you in any way, shape or form."
The programs agreed in July to a two-year series, the first meeting coming at the new Intuit Dome home of the Los Angeles Clippers. Next year's game will come in Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena.
The Bulldogs (9-3) have won two straight since falling to Kentucky and UConn. Few said the plan is for the players to return for Christmas Day for a workout to get started in prepping for the Bruins.
UCLA (10-2) is coming off a loss to North Carolina in New York's Madison Square Garden, where the Bruins blew a 16-point lead.
It left Cronin visibly irked in his postgame news conference, notably with eight missed free throws after halftime as well as a late turnover in a tight game.
“There are no silver linings in losses, none,” Cronin said. “You've got to make free throws. Your point guard has to take care of the ball at the end of the game. That's what real teams do. ... I'm still fighting to get this group to — same thing as last year — where we were a couple of years ago.”
The holiday week is light on action, with 12 of the poll's 25 teams not playing all week. That represents one last chance for teams to get some time to rest and recover from lingering bumps and bruises before diving into the meat of conference play next week.
The AP Top 25, KenPom, Bart Torvik and NET rankings seem to agree on Tennessee, Auburn and Duke as a top tier, with the Tigers as the No. 1 in three of the fourth.
Fluctuations start from there.
The Volunteers, Tigers and Blue Devils were the only three teams to appear in the top five of all of those rankings as of Monday afternoon. AP No. 3 Iowa State also appeared in the top five for KenPom (5th), while No. 14 Gonzaga (No. 5 in the NET and Bart Torvik, No. 6 in KenPom) and No. 15 Houston (No. 2 Bart Torvik, No. 4 KenPom, No. 6 NET) ranked notably higher than their AP Top 25 standing.
Maryland is the top vote-getter among unranked AP teams, but checked in at seventh for the NET as well as 11th for both Bart Torvik and KenPom. Other AP unranked teams appearing in the top 15 of other rankings include St. John's (12th in KenPom), Texas Tech (12th in Bart Torvik, 13th in KenPom) and Pittsburgh (11th in NET).
One game stands out for teams that were top vote-getters among the unranked in Monday's latest poll: Memphis against No. 16 Mississippi.
The Tigers (9-3) host the Rebels (11-1) on Saturday in the kind of game that could boost them right back into the AP Top 25 with a win. Memphis spent a week at No. 16 to start December after wins against UConn and Michigan State in the Maui Invitational, dropped out after losing at home to Arkansas State.
The Tigers returned at No. 21 last week beating Clemson and Virginia on the road, then dropped out again Monday after losing at home to Mississippi State.
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