BYU on roll entering rematch with No. 16 Saint Mary's (Jan 25, 2018)
Timing is everything.
Brigham Young University was on a nine-game winning streak when the Cougars hosted Saint Mary's and lost to the Gaels in overtime on Dec 30.
Sophomore guard TJ Haws scored only seven points in the first of a three-game stretch, which included an upset loss to Pacific, when he struggled.
But since then, Haws has excelled and the Cougars (17-4, 6-2) have won four straight heading into Thursday's rematch at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif., with the Gaels, who are 19-2 overall and a perfect 8-0 in West Coast Conference play.
Timing -- if Haws hadn't struggled in that first game, perhaps the team's records would be reversed.
"Teej always spends time at it, but the last couple of weeks he has made a real conscious effort to come in a little bit earlier and stay a little bit longer," Cougars head coach Dave Rose told the Salt Lake Tribune.
In his last three games, Haws is shooting 59 percent (19 of 32) from the field and has made 10 of 18 from beyond the arc. During that stretch he's averaging 16.3 points and 4.3 assists per game as the Cougars are playing some of their basketball in years.
Haws has taken some of the pressure off leading scorers Elijah Bryant (18.0 points) and Yoeli Childs (17.6 points).
"We're a lot better team than the last time we played them," Childs told KSL.com. "We're a lot better executing on offense and defense, and I definitely think the game experience helps out a ton."
Based on what the Gaels have accomplished in the past week, BYU will have little margin for error against the 16th-ranked team. Saint Mary's will be gunning for its school-record-tying 15th straight win after traveling to Spokane, Wash., and defeating Gonzaga 74-71 on Jan. 18 and beating Pacific on the road 72-69 on Saturday.
The win left Gaels' coach Randy Bennett drained.
"I'm exhausted," he told the San Francisco Chronicle, "but I'm just pumped we were able to find a way to get that done."
The Gaels impressed poll voters so much they jumped from being unranked to No. 16 in this week's AP Top 25.
All-America candidate Jock Landale scored 58 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in the two games.
"Take nothing away; Jock is a really good player," Rose said. "He's got unbelievable skill, and he's worked hard ... but the guys playing around Jock are really, really emphatic in getting the ball to Jock."
That supporting cast includes fellow Australians point guard Emmett Naar (10.9 points and 9.1 assists per game) and Calvin Hermanson (12.3 points), who can stretch the defense thanks to shooting 45 percent from 3-point range.
There's no doubt, Landale is the man when it's crunch time.
"He's such a big presence, such a great player and such a great teammate," Gaels' forward Tanner Krebs told the San Francisco Chronicle after the Gonzaga win. "He's our leader and the head of the snake for our program.
"It's pretty handy to have a guy like that who is able to score pretty much every time. You can just rely on him so much."
While the offense operates at peak efficiency, the defense gets better and better, and since back-to-back losses in November, the Gaels have not given up more than 73 points in a game.
