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On Tuesday, Utah suffered a loss to Boise State because it couldn't stop dribble penetration from the Broncos guards when it most mattered.

The Utes worked on that defensively in practice on Thursday. And it's a good thing they did because Saturday's matchup against Fresno State at the Huntsman Center will mean more of the same.

FSU — much like Boise — plays a three- and sometimes four-guard alignment that will demand Utah's attention. Most of the principles will be the same as well. Fresno will look to get into the lane off the dribble, collapse the Utes' defense, and either score inside or kick it out for easy 3-point looks.

"It will be a lot of the same," Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "Fresno State is a good team and it's not going to be easy to guard them. They have five guys scoring in double-figures. It's a quick team and it's an athletic team. We're going to have to play pretty well to have a chance to be successful."

The Bulldogs enter Saturday's matchup with a 6-3 record. They've beaten UC-Irvine (the favorite to win the Big West Conference) in overtime, but they've lost to Pittsburgh and Pacific as well. During practice on Thursday, Utah worked on staying solid defensively on an individual basis.

In the loss to Boise, the Broncos were able to score almost at will in the paint down the stretch. If the Utes are able to keep the ball on the perimeter, the chances of winning increase significantly.

"We have to learn that we need to finish our possessions defensively," Utah guard Brandon Taylor said. "The guards put our big men in bad spots on defense, and we can't have that against Fresno State. We have to get better."

Not on the radar

Utah guard Delon Wright played all 40 minutes against Boise State, something that's been talked about because the junior was the best player on the floor for large stretches. But he also had a critical turnover in the last minute.

If that could be attributed to fatigue, though, he wouldn't say so.

"I don't think I was tired, I think I just got too far ahead of myself and lost the ball," Wright said. "Honestly, I didn't even realize that I had went all 40 minutes. I felt fine at the end."

Odds and ends

Saturday's game will be shown on the Pac-12 Network. … Taylor stayed after practice to work on his shooting. "I'm getting back to basics," Taylor said. … Krystkowiak said freshman Kenneth Ogbe is making the case for more minutes. Ogbe scored nine second-half points against Boise State. —

Fresno State at Utah

O Saturday, 3 p.m.

Pac-12 Network