Preview: No. 14 Gonzaga vs No. 22 UCLA is this week’s top game

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.

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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.”

AP Top 25: Gonzaga drops despite wins in two games last week