What normally would be one of the biggest games of the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ conference slate is coming early thanks to the season of COVID as the Zags head to Provo to take on the BYU Cougars on a rescheduled Monday evening game.

Gonzaga is coming off a shaky performance against the Pacific Tigers, in which a big Drew Timme burst and a well-timed technical foul helped the Zags post a final score that seemed much easier than how the game transpired.

The Cougars had their own fun with Pacific last weekend, needing two overtimes to down the Tigers. They followed that up with a thunderous walloping of Portland.

In a normal situation, this would be the game to circle as a potential upset. Considering Gonzaga beat BYU 86-69 earlier in the season, hopefully, that won’t be the case. The Marriott Center is hardly the most terrifying road arena in the WCC when it is missing approximately 19,000 fans.

Either way, after some decidedly shaky play from the Zags in conference games for the past couple of weeks, the NCAA-caliber BYU Cougars are exactly the challenge this team needs at the moment.

Game info

• Time: 8:00 pm PT
• TV: ESPN
• Online: WatchESPN