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Provo • In a season of inconsistency, the BYU Cougars have been quite consistent in one particular aspect of their up-and-down performances in 2015-15.
They bounce back well.
BYU (17-8, 8-4 West Coast Conference) has not lost consecutive games all season. They've had winning streaks of two, three and even four games, but no losing streak longer than a game.
That ability to recover from losses will be tested mightily on Thursday because the Cougars play at San Francisco (8 p.m. MST, BYUtv), which is 13-10 and coming off a confidence-boosting 89-86 overtime win over Santa Clara.
What's more, BYU could be without star guard Chase Fischer, the team's leading scorer. Fischer, who averages 18.3 points per game, fifth-best in the WCC, suffered a shoulder injury early in practice on Tuesday.
"He got a little stinger on his shoulder," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "We will see how serious it is tonight. We will have him go see the doc. But not the way you want to start practice. We will know more tonight and tomorrow, see how it responds."
Suddenly, the Cougars are a banged up team, after being healthy most of the season.
Freshman Zac Seljaas played just 12 minutes in the 77-72 loss to Pacific on Saturday and still hasn't fully recovered from a shoulder contusion he suffered against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 28.
"He is back to practicing 100 percent of the time, but that is just because he's really a tough kid," Rose said. "He's fighting through it. We will see. It is getting better. It is still really bruised. That's a good sign, though, of the healing. But he's not 100 percent yet, no. We need him to be, quickly."
Emery: We overlooked them
Freshman guard Nick Emery said the Cougars lost to the 6-15 Tigers because they didn't take the visitors seriously.
"I think we kind of overlooked them," Emery said. "I think that was the No. 1 thing. As bad as their record was, they just outplayed us and those types of games you can't let slide by. And we let it slide by, and obviously learned a big lesson that you can't let any game go."
Sophomore center Corbin Kaufusi agreed with Emery.
"I think that definitely plays a factor," Kaufusi said. "As much as you want to say, 'no, we are not going to overlook them, we are going to play them for the team they are,' I think in your subconscious, that kind of comes out a little bit."
Leaving with a W
BYU is 4-0 against San Francisco at the gym now known as War Memorial at The Sobrato Center since it joined the WCC, and 9-1 overall, against the Dons since 2012. But Rose said Tuesday after practice the games are never easy.
"There have been some tough games, close games," he said. "We've shot the ball well in that gym. But we've had some really big performance. … They are a big scoring team. And I think they average 85 points, 86 points in league [actually 81.0]. So we've been able to kinda outscore them in their gym. We will see how we do."
Briefly
Rose will be going for his 275th career win on Thursday. … San Francisco averages 1,455 fans per game, lowest in the WCC. BYU averages 14,955, most in the league and in the Western United States. … Fischer leads the league in 3-pointers with 79. USF's Devin Watson is sixth with 51.
Twitter: @drewjay