Heading into Tuesday’s regular-season opener at the Sanford Pentagon in South Dakota, Wisconsin will be in for a fight against a legit No. 20 Saint Mary’s program that has a proven record of winning throughout the past decade.

In order for this Gaels program to have sustained success, it has been as creative as it gets in recruiting, style and culture.

Saint Mary’s basketball is one of the most unlikely success stories. How does a private Roman Catholic school with just over 2,600 undergraduates build a consistent basketball winner? How has this team made either the NCAA tournament or NIT each of the past 10 seasons? How do they have more current NBA players than Wisconsin does? The answer starts with their head coach, Randy Bennett.

To say the Gaels were not a successful program when Bennett took over would be a massive understatement. In his first opportunity as a head coach, he inherited a team that had won two games in the 2000-2001 season. The secret to flipping this team around to an NCAA tournament team four years later? A large part of it came from the continent of Australia.

Since Bennett arrived in 2001, Saint Mary’s has had at least one Australian player - usually multiple - on their roster. These Aussies have been recruited from specific sporting schools, including the Australia Institute of Sport, where current NBA guard Patty Mills was recruited from. Currently, Mills and fellow Aussie Matthew Dellavedova are the two Saint Mary’s alums in the NBA. Over the past four years, the Gaels have not had a roster with less than five Australian players. The Gaels haven’t had to win in-state recruiting battles against UCLA, USC and others because they are playing a different game. This season, the St. Mary's has four Australians and two New Zealanders on their roster.

Saint Mary's returns its three leading scorers, including one of the most electric guards in the country in Jordan Ford from Folsom, Calif. Last year, the point guard led the team averaging 21.1 points per contest. Ford can score at all three levels and is an excellent shooter off the dribble from deep. Expect Wisconsin junior guard Brad Davison to be tasked with the challenge of slowing the senior down with physicality, because if Ford has a weakness offensively, it’s his strength. If Ford’s speed proves too much for Davison, D’Mitrik Trice would be the option to change things up on the dynamic scorer.

The second most dangerous weapon offensively for the Gaels is Malik Fitts, a junior transfer from USF. He had a breakout year last year, averaging over 15 points per game. Fitts is a direct match-up for redshirt junior forward Aleem Ford, as the two have nearly identically builds. Ford’s growth in the weight room will be tested against a strong, talented scorer. Fitts is also an excellent shooter, a common theme among this Gaels roster. An additional weapon from the outside is senior and Aussie Tanner Krebs, who can light you up in a hurry from deep.

While Saint Mary’s was technically a nearly average team in points per game last year, it is an offensive juggernaut of a different kind. This team thrives in wearing you down on the offensive end. They are schooled to never settle for the first look, and always work for a better shot. Their goal is to find the most in rhythm, open look that they can for any of their long-range marksmen. Last year, the Gaels finished sixth to last in possessions per game, yet scored over 72 points per contest.

Wisconsin fans will likely be able to count the amount of one-pass shots seen from the Gaels on Tuesday on one hand. For the Badgers, it will be to not play 15-20 good seconds of defense, but rather 30 solid seconds each time down the floor. The UW bench will be key as defensive fatigue can be a factor against a grinding team like St. Mary's. The trio of leading scorers from last year -- who as previously mentioned are all returning -- all shot around 40 percent from three-point range. Last year, Wisconsin only allowed opponents to shoot 31.5 percent from three.

Defensively, the Gaels play a stifling man-to-man that is up there with the best in the nation. Saint Mary’s also prides itself in securing defensive rebounds at a high rate. Last year, SMC hauled in the sixth most total rebounds in the country. Wisconsin will have to play patiently on the offensive end and knock down 3s of its own. The best way to counter what Saint Mary’s does in terms of slow offensive pace is to make them work on the defensive end.

The battle between the Badgers and what some could call the California University of Australia will likely be decided beyond the arc. It will be a slugfest with few possessions and many low shot clock scenarios. The team that can knock down open threes with the most consistency will come out on top at the Pentagon.