Down in Fresno on Saturday afternoon

It's Fresno State on Saturday afternoon (remember when this was THE rivalry?) down in the San Joaquin.

The Bulldogs are 10-13 overall, 3-7 in conference play and, to some unmeasurable degree, that record can laid at the missing bodies of Robert Upshaw and Braden Anderson.

No, there isn't anything macabre about the preceding sentence so let's explain.

The former is now on the roster at Washington after a tumultous freshman season of suspensions and his 6-foot-10, 240 frame is missed. His late departure didn't allow time for a replacement recruit. The 6-foot-9 Anderson suffered season-missing injuries in an auto accident early this school year so Coach Rodney Terry has been forced to play small ball.

Senior guard Tyler Johnson stands just 6-foot-4 but he is not only the leader scorer for Fresno State (15.9) but tops in rebounding too (7.2). Also second in assists as he has staked out a mighty impressive claim for all-conference honors.

Another backcourter, 6-foot-4 sophomore Marvelle Harris is playing the Avis role -- second in scoring (14.6) and boardplay 6(5.3) but he is rather streaky. When on, he's near unstoppable but he still endures periods of disappeances.

A third guard, 5-foot-11 sophomore Cezar Guerrero checks in third in scoring (13.8) plus is the team assist leader with 95.

6-foot-7 freshman wing Paul Watson boasts of 10.1 points plus 4.8 boards per game

The nominal big for the the Bulldogs is 6-foot-9, 205 junior Alex Davis and he provides 5.5 points plus 4.4 rebounds an outing but leads in blocked shots with 36.

These are the primary players at Terry's disposal, who is under some degree of heat for not turning matters around.

After a five game in-conference losing streak, the Bulldogs took down Wyoming at home 67-62 and then went to Colorado Springs and beat Air Force 68-51. 

Despite the lack of size, FSU is being out-rebounded by a small figure, 35.3 to 37.8 for opponents.

This certainly is a matchup-able team for the Spartans but also one that possesses a greater degree of experience. It will be tough to win if Fresno State is allowed to get into a flow so San Jose State University's singular goal is not to allow any point runs nad make the Bulldogs have to grind it out. Such is the best chance for success.

Here's another game preview.