UCLA remained perfect at home as it dominated Southern Utah, 88-43, at Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday night.

The Bruins excelled defensively, forcing 30 turnovers, a mark it hadn’t reached since 2002. They racked up 15 steals, including three apiece from junior guard Skyy Clark and freshman guard Trent Perry.

Offensively, UCLA was led by senior guard Lazar Stefanovic, who finished with a game-high 19 points. He grabbed five of the Bruins’ 41 rebounds as well.

Other Bruins to finish the game in double figures in the scoring column included sophomore guard Eric Dailey Jr. (15 points) and junior guard Dylan Andrews.

UCLA jumped out to a 7-0 run to start the game, and after the Thunderbirds trimmed the margin to just 4, produced a 14-3 run to put themselves up 24-9 with just over 8-and-a-half minutes to go in the first half.

The Bruins kept their foot on the gas, stretching their lead to 23 going into halftime. They held the visitors to just 20 points through the first 20 minutes.

And UCLA still didn’t let up. It opened the second half with a 15-2 run that included 9 points from Andrews, 7 of which came consecutively.

With less than 7 minutes to go in the contest, a converted and-1 from Perry would give the Bruins their largest lead of the game — 50 points — while capping off an 11-0 run.

Perry finished with 9 points, five rebounds and five steals to add to his trifecta of steals.

Other notable outings from UCLA included those of sophomore guard Sebastian Mack, who totaled 8 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals, and sophomore center Aday Mara, who tallied a game-high eight rebounds while adding 6 points, three assists, three blocks and a steal.

The Bruins made six baskets from downtown, half of which were from Stefanovic, who was perfect on all his attempts from beyond the arc. Overall, they shot 38-of-80 from the field.

Things will amp up for UCLA going forward as the team will begin Big Ten play next week, starting with a showdown with its old Pac-12 foe, Washington. The two teams will face off at Pauley Pavilion for the Bruins’ final contest of their six-game homestand.

That game is set for next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. PST, 10:30 p.m. EST.

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During Monday’s press conference, Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham shared significant news about two key players, linebacker Levani Damuni and cornerback Kenan Johnson. Both have expressed their intention to return next season, a development that brings excitement and promise to the program.

Damuni had a standout 2023 campaign before a season-ending injury in April 2024. Known for his dominance, Damuni played in all 13 games last year, starting seven of them. He led the Utes with 87 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. His consistency was remarkable, registering double-digit tackles in five of his last six games. Damuni also tied for the team lead with 9.5 third-down stops, showcasing his ability to deliver in critical moments. Notably, he recorded a season-best 12 tackles in two games, including a top-five matchup against Washington and the Las Vegas Bowl against Northwestern.

Kyle Whittingham provides an update about his future at Utah

Johnson, another key contributor, started at cornerback in Utah’s 2024 season opener against Southern Utah. Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to injury, but his experience brings immense value. Before transferring to Utah, Johnson played 45 games with 11 starts at Georgia Tech from 2019-2023. In his final season at Georgia Tech, he started eight games, recording 29 tackles, two forced fumbles, four passes defended, and an interception. His defensive skills and experience will add depth and leadership to Utah’s secondary in 2025.

As Utah prepares to conclude its regular season against UCF on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN, the announcement of Damuni and Johnson’s returns provides a glimpse into a promising future for the Utes, setting the stage for continued success.

Cody Williams hasn’t quite taken off as we may have hoped. To authenticate this feeling, the Utah Jazz made the organizational decision to take Williams from Will Hardy’s active roster and drop him down for an assignment with the G-League affiliate Salt Lake Stars.

Quite an inauspicious beginning for a player that the Jazz were very high on as early as before the ping pong balls of the NBA draft lottery determined the draft order.

“If the Jazz had somehow gotten lucky and won the lottery, Williams would have been firmly in the mix to be the No. 1 pick,” shared insider Tony Jones, “The fact that he would have been in consideration should tell you how interested the Jazz were in the small forward.”

Attempting to hit on the right draft pick can often feel like playing the crane game in the entryway of a Walmart. Even though you’ve made every calculation and believe beyond all doubt that when you drop the claw, that Pompompurin plushie could slip through your delicate grasp, catch the nudge of an unsuspecting iPod Touch, or fall short in a million other ways before reaching the promised land.

Williams has an arduous journey ahead of him, and his next stop will be with the Jazz’s G-League squad. Too timid, too inconsistent, and too horrific as a shooter, Cody’s pro introduction hasn’t been comparable to his brother Jalen—who’s been tearing it up in OKC.

But Cody’s NBA exposure hasn’t been faith-promoting since the Las Vegas Summer League. In real NBA floor time, he’s been so invisible that Google isn’t even sure what he looks like.

It isn’t fair to measure his trajectory with that of his older brother, but their shared blood will boil the waters of comparison for the rest of his career. The Jazz understand that to unlock their rookie’s ultimate potential, he’ll need to be brought along slowly.

I’m sure the question at the head of this article has been burning a hole in your mind. Should we hit the panic button on Utah’s rookie out of Colorado?

The short answer is no—the longer answer is no way, Co-day (too much?). Keep in mind this is a player who turned 20 years old only 6 days ago (happy belated birthday, sorry your present kind of sucks), and it’s far from uncommon to see a rookie spend time in the G League to get more reps, build some confidence, and develop their game while distanced from their team.

Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh both spent time with the Stars for much of their rookie campaigns before contributing to Utah’s rotation. Cody has plenty to gain from a brief developmental sabbatical.

In the 2024-25 season, Cody is averaging 3.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per night on nightmare-like shooting splits of 27/19/60—a far cry from his collegiate output of 55/41/71.

Be patient with Williams, because we’re only in the first chapter of his NBA novel.