The spread opened at an absurdly high 11.5, descended to a sensible 8.5 and has inched back up over concerns that the Cougars’ Nick Emery (illness) and his 14 ppg will be missing. Here's hoping he suits up, in which case BYU’s 12–1 straight-up record at home this season and 90.5-percent win percentage at home going back a dozen years are overriding factors. The Zags might not be ready to forfeit their unbeaten status, but being newly minted as the nation’s top-ranked team brings added pressure. Take the points.

With Northwestern losing big last night, Gonzaga now takes over as the top covering team in the nation as the Bulldogs travel to Provo for a meeting with BYU tonight. The Zags have covered 13 of their last 15 games. This is only the sixth time all season that they've been single-digit favorites, and they're 4-1 ATS in the previous five. The Cougars aren't as strong as they've been in past years and have gone 2-4 ATS in their last six games, which includes a really bad loss at San Diego when BYU was a 10.5-point favorite. I'm on Gonzaga to keep rolling.