This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Denver • Know your opponent, Utah fans. Especially in the postseason.

I posited five questions for the Fresno Bee's Robert Kuwada who is covering the team this week in Denver. It's a closer look at the challenges the Bulldogs represent to the Utes, as well as the stories that have come to define the team.

http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/";>You can read Robert's stories here and https://twitter.com/rkuwada";>follow his tweets here:

1. Marvelle Harris has been a great player for a long time, but what has come together for him as a senior that maybe was lacking when he first started to stand out?

RK: Marvelle has improved every year and his game has expanded every year. I think that's the thing that separates him. Like Larry Krystowiak said today, you don't see too many guys that can hurt you from the three-point line, have a good midrange game and can also get to the rim. Harris adds more in that he is the leading assist guy on the team and the leading steals guy on the team. So there's a fourth and a fifth in there. I don't know that there was anything lacking in his game, it has just been in development. He's a fourth-year guy now, and has played a lot of basketball at a high level. He understands it better and he understands how his game can impact a game better.

2. With the 11th-most steals in the country, what does Fresno State do defensively that makes it such a turnover-forcing unit?

RK: That's a good question, because they can struggle with individual match-ups. They're an aggressive group, though, and they are playing very well together right now at the defensive end. They're in gaps, will trap, there's a lot of help, they're really active. They're going to foul a lot, but also get their hands on a lot of passes. The points off turnovers obviously have been huge, though. They had a couple of games where half of the points they scored came off turnovers and they averaged almost 20 points off turnovers a game in conference play.

3. What has the absence of Torren Jones (6-foot-9, second-leading scorer) meant to the team, and why do you think they've managed to go on a streak without him?

RK: The loss of Jones left them pretty thin up front and maybe it was just the caliber of the Mountain West this year, but it didn't hurt them much. Cullen Russo, Karachi Edo and Terrell Carter II really have elevated their games with him out. And, as far as a chemistry experiment, it might have helped them because he had some problems in games and in practices before the medical issue that has him on the sidelines.

4. http://www.fresnobee.com/sports/college/mountain-west/fresno-state/bulldogs-basketball/article66590657.html";>Jakob Poeltl looks like an unseemly match-up for these guys. What have they done in the past against superior size, and how effective has it been?

RK: Poeltl will be a problem. They haven't seen too many like him, the closest Stephen Zimmerman from UNLV and Egidiju Mockevicius from Evansville. Zimmerman as a freshman I don't think is even close to Poeltl as a sophomore, but Mockevicius had a big second half when Evansville beat Fresno State on its home floor. He hit 8 of 10 shots in that second half, scored 17 points and had eight rebounds. The Bulldogs were really lost trying to guard him. It's not easy to lose track of someone 6-10, but they did whether in zone or in man. A lot. Against Poeltl I imagine they'll try to double and see if they can't get the ball out of his hands and make someone else have to make shots. Karachi Edo is only 6-6, but he is very quick off the floor and an explosive leaper, so it will be interesting to see if he can get to his shot.

5. How much is the underdog label motivating this group this week?

RK: I don't think the underdog role really means too much to them. They're in a good stretch right now, won nine in a row. The way they have won, too, helps. They've been able to grind out games and found ways to win, so I think that matters to them more than who they're playing or how they're viewed going into the game. They're going to continue working. They were down 18 at Utah State in the last regular season game and didn't need to win to hold the No. 2 seed for the MW Tournament and they just kept playing and ended up pulling out a one-point win.

Thanks for the responses, Robert.

http://bit.ly/1MnZWA4";>Utah takes on Fresno State at 5:27 p.m. on truTV. See you then.

kgoon@sltrib.com
Twitter: @kylegoon