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Growing up in rural West Virginia, Chase Fischer knew one thing about tiny Saint Mary's College in Northern California.

"I knew that Mickey McConnell was there," Fischer said. "That's about it."

McConnell starred for the Gaels from 2007-11 and is now playing professionally in France.

"I followed [McConnell]," Fischer said on Wednesday after practice at the Marriott Center. "But I had no clue five, six years ago I would be sitting here talking bout Saint Mary's in California. I hadn't heard much about them. But now I know plenty about them. It is kind of interesting how things work out."

Fischer talked a lot about SMC, because the No. 25 Gaels (USA Today Coaches Poll) are in Provo tonight to take on the Cougars in a huge West Coast Conference game. BYU can kiss its title hopes goodbye if it can't beat SMC at 7 p.m. at the Marriott Center. The game will be televised by BYUtv.

Fischer said anticipating for the rematch — SMC won by 11 a month ago in Moraga — is building at BYU.

"Yeah, for sure, especially amongst our team," he said. "It gets you ready a little bit more than it usually would — especially that they are leading the league, more importantly than even being ranked. We need this win in a lot of ways — not only because they are ranked, but for our [postseason] resume. Because they are leading the league, and they beat us at their place. Definitely these games are easier to get up for. There is a lot riding on it. There is always a good atmosphere when they come to town."

The two teams' styles couldn't be more different. Saint Mary's is a slow-down, work the shot clock offense built on efficiency, taking good shots and playing turnover-free. BYU plays at a faster pace and likes to attack, attack and attack some more.

"That is something coach emphasizes week in and week out," BYU forward Kyle Davis said. "We got to play at our speed, regardless of who we are playing. That's just our style. This is maybe two conflicting styles — a team that wants to slow it down, run a lot of shot clock. Where we are the exact opposite. They may take 30 seconds, where we grab a rebound and run it up and throw up a shot. Thats just how we play. We will be looking to do that again tomorrow."

It will be SMC's first game outside the state of California since last March's WCC Tournament, but scheduling isn't the only thing the Gaels do well (if compiling a glossy record is the ultimate goal).

"Well, they win close games," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "You get in a couple close games early, and you win those it really can define your team as far as their belief and their execution. It also can go the other way. You get in a couple close games early, and you get beat, then you are kind of fighting that. Sometimes it is a certain portion of the season, and sometimes for the entire season. But I think right now their system is so well accepted by every player. And they know late in the shot clock if they are going to pick and roll, if they are going to drive and score, if they are going to drive and dish. It is all based on the reaction of the defense, and they have a real confidence in their ability to execute late in the game.

The real impressive win was the Gonzaga win, when Gonzaga had them by 15 in the second half. And Saint Mary's still kept their poise, and kept running their system. And then [Emmett] Naar hit a big shot and [Joe] Rahon hit a big shot. They all complemented each other, and at the end they had a big win. So I think there are a lot of things that are involved there."

BYU has won three of the last five matchups with Saint Mary's, and two in a row in Provo, but this is a much different team than the one that was here last year and lost 82-60 on Feb. 12, 2015.

"Anytime you take a group of new players and end up in February with a team like [Randy Bennett] has, [it is impressive]. He had five fifth-year seniors that started for him last year, and started every game. And the fact that he has played 20 games, he has started the same five guys in all 20 games, and that they have been as successful as they have, that is pretty impressive. It is a stroke of good fortune, the fact that your guys are all ready every game. He hasn't had any guys miss any games. And the fact that these two guards make everybody better, no matter who they are playing with [is impressive].

They played 40 minutes each against us last time. They played 40 minutes each against Pacific, against Gonzaga. So those two guys, Rahon and Naar, are really important to that team."