The Utah Jazz have extended their losing skid to three games with a loss against the Golden State Warriors. The final score was 114-123.
Utah
Oregon State men grind out win over Southern Utah for second straight
CORVALLIS — Never quite able to pull far enough away for comfort despite a 22-point lead in the first half Saturday, Oregon State men’s basketball beat Southern Utah 81-70 at Gill Coliseum.
The Beavers (5-5) were led by Dez White with 20 points and Johan Munch with 16.
The Thunderbirds (4-7) were the worst team OSU has faced this season in terms of NET ranking at No. 343.
“That’s as good as we’ve seen them play on tape this year,” OSU coach Wayne Tinkle said of Southern Utah. “They did a lot of really good things, played their tails off, caused us some frustration. We did a lot of really good things in spurts, but it wasn’t as good of a 40-minute effort as we need.”
The win was Oregon State’s second straight, coming on the heels of a five-game losing streak.
White was red-hot from the start, hitting his first three attempts to give OSU a 13-6 lead. He had 16 points in the first half alone.
Noah Amenhauser came in at center and forced his will, scoring two straight baskets to make it 17-6 Beavers.
Turnovers and poor transition defense hurt OSU as the first half progressed, though, and Southern Utah rattled off a 6-0 run to cut the OSU lead to 20-16.
“We didn’t keep the ball in front of us,” Tinkle said. “They got downhill, got to the paint at will. In our zone, we didn’t have enough communication or urgency to match. And when we don’t communicate and see our area and the ball, we have breakdowns. They still got to the rim against zone a couple of times and we lost shooters.”
But as the Beavers picked up the pace, they blew the game wide open.
Ja’Quavis Williford — playing his third game since returning from injury — hit two quick buckets to make it 25-16 Beavers. OSU would extend that to 45-23 at one point, fueled by transition play and White’s confident scoring at all three levels.
OSU is dealing with both injuries and illness for key players: Yaak Yaak is still reconditioning after being out for the entire Paradise Jam tournament; Matija Samar is close to being back from a sprained MCL, and the Beavers are hoping to have him next week; and Keziah Ekissi is recovering from an illness that has kept him sidelined.
The Thunderbirds finished the half strong, going on a 7-0 run to cut it to 45-30 at the break.
While OSU came out in the second half sluggish in the early going, Munch powered to the basket on three straight possessions to get the lead up to 55-38 with 13:45 to go.
OSU kept the lead around 12-14 as the second half rolled along, but Tinkle’s frustration was evident throughout the game — primarily in response to defensive breakdowns leading to easy baskets for the Thunderbirds.
OSU led 65-51 at the 9:40 mark. Southern Utah got as close as 68-59 with just under seven minutes to go.
The Beavers picked up the defensive effort down the stretch, including a Munch block. OSU was able to pull out a double-digit victory in the end, but late turnovers and a lack of urgency on offense from the Beavers almost made it interesting as Southern Utah hit its open outside shots.
“We are a long ways off,” Tinkle said. “Defensively, we play stretches of really good defense, but we’ve got to do a good job for 40. Offensively, I think we’re getting more comfortable these last couple games in understanding how important it is to get turns of the ball and not go 1-on-1.
“When we go 1-on-1, that’s when we turn it over, take bad shots, and shoot a poor percentage. And we carry that frustration over to the defensive end.”
Next game: Oregon State (5-5) vs. Montana State (4-5)
- When: Saturday, Dec. 13
- Time: 2:00 pm PT
- Where: Gill Coliseum, Corvallis
- Stream: ESPN+
Here are the biggest takeaways from the night:
Defense folds again under Curry takeover
Utah controlled the first half of this game. At one point they held a 12 point lead.
But at 37 years old, Steph Curry can still do some amazing things. Curry went for 20 points in the third-quarter, frazzled the Jazz, and they never really recovered after that. Part of this was Curry being the greatest shooter of all time, but part of it was Utah struggling to defend at the point of attack and off screens. They weren’t particularly physical, particularly attached, or particularly effective at shrinking Curry’s space. It’s same story from most night’s this season.
The Jazz are a solid offensive team – 16th best in offensive rating to be exact. They continue to lead the league in sharing the ball with a 72% assist rate and have weapons at every level, especially when Walker Kessler returns. But they are still the worst defensive team in the league at 30th in defensive rating. This is good news for pro-tank fans, but bad for the Jazz becoming a competitive team under this core.
Who is Utah’s third piece
Keyonte George is clearly playing at an All-Star and Most Improved Player of the Year level. He finished tonight with 22 points and nine assists. His third-year jump is real and he’s solidified himself as a core of the franchise moving forward.
Lauri Markkanen is still playing at an All-NBA level. He finished tonight with 35 points and five rebounds. He’s one of the best scorers in the league this season and a great companion next to George.
When both of Utah’s stars are playing, it’s easy to convince yourself that the Jazz just need one more core player to pop to enter win-now mode. But it isn’t very clear who that player is. Is it Ace Bailey? Maybe, but that will take another two-three seasons to find out. It’s clear it’s not Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks, or any other role player on the roster. It’s a shame that Walker Kessler is out for the season, because if the shooting was real, he might be a suitable answer.
The truth is that the next core piece is probably not on the roster right now. Let’s hope that comes from the draft if the Jazz keep their pick.
A note on tonight’s whistle
Praising the referees is usually not something people like to read about, especially when the Jazz lose. I’m doing it anyway, apologies.
Tonight’s crew chief was the fan-favorite Bill Kennedy. He was joined by 16-year veteran Kevin Cutler and 6-year veteran Simone Jelks. The crew did two things that I haven’t seen much of this season:
(1) The crew did not penalize defenders for simply existing while offensive players generated contract. Keyonte George, for one, was someone who struggled with this. George (smartly) has learned that the NBA has decided that offensive players can initiate contact at will, enter the established space of the defender, and be rewarded with free throws. It’s partly why he’s shooting 7.4 free throws a game. In my opinion, this is bad for basketball.
To be clear, I don’t blame George for doing this. The most talented players at manipulating this part of the game are elite scorers in the league (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Austin Reaves, for example). But tonight, the crew didn’t reward George, Curry, Butler, or Markkanen with any of these types of plays and I think it led to a more competitive, faster, and more enjoyable watching experience.
(2) The crew treated Draymond Green like every other player when it comes to technical fouls. It’s no secret that Green gets a much longer leash than most when it comes to berating the officials. Watching him get two technicals after complaining on a meaningless play was nice to see, for once.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lani White scored 25 points to lead Utah past No. 8 TCU 87-77 in overtime Saturday night.
Reese Ross added 15 points and Maty Wilke had 12 for the Utes. Evelina Otto finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Utah (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) made 13 3-pointers and shot 56.5% from long distance.
Olivia Miles had 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to pace the Horned Frogs (14-1, 2-1). Marta Suarez added 23 points and 11 rebounds. TCU shot just 37% from the field, including 9 of 39 from 3-point range.
White forced overtime by making a 3-pointer that tied it 67-all with 12 seconds left in regulation. Utah never trailed in OT and went up 76-69 with 2:47 left after White capped a 9-2 run with her fourth outside basket.
TCU used a 7-0 spurt to erase a four-point deficit in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Suarez and Donovyn Hunter put TCU up 66-64 with 49 seconds remaining.
Ross had a chance to tie it on two free throws with 33.3 seconds left, but missed both. Miles made one of two foul shots with 22 seconds to go before White tied it.
Utah took advantage of cold shooting by the Horned Frogs to pull ahead in the third quarter. Back-to-back baskets from Suarez were TCU’s only field goals over an eight-minute stretch. The Utes scored on three straight possessions, culminating in a layup from Wilke, to take a 52-48 lead.
Miles made back-to-back baskets to put the Horned Frogs back up 58-56. Utah used a 7-0 run, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Ross, to go ahead 63-58 with 4:32 left in regulation.
Up next
TCU hosts Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Utah plays at Kansas on Wednesday.
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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The judge in Utah’s redistricting case filed a ruling making it possible for the Legislature to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court, but not without a strong rebuke of their process.
On Friday, Judge Dianna Gibson ruled partially in favor of the Legislature’s most recent request in the redistricting case, certifying its August 25th ruling as final in order to allow them to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
However, she strongly denied their request to enter a final judgment and end the case, saying, “This case is far from over.”
MORE | Utah Redistricting:
File – Utah Congressional Redistricting Maps (Image: KUTV)
“Quite literally – this Court is between the proverbial rock and a hard spot. This entire case is not ‘final,’” Gibson wrote in the ruling. “But the Court agrees that the important legal issues decided by this Court and reflected in each of its rulings … should be reviewed by the Utah Supreme Court as quickly as possible.”
Gibson said it was the legislative defendant’s “duty to seek appellate review” regarding any of her interlocutory, or non-final orders, within 21 days of the rulings. She said they repeatedly claimed they would but never did.
Now, they are requesting she finalize the case, or at the very least one of her orders, to allow them to file an appeal.
Because Gibson does not want to delay appellate review, she agreed to certify the August 25, 2025 Ruling and Order as final.
“Every Utah voter, every Utah congressional candidate and arguably every Utah citizen is impacted by this case. Issuing a final ruling – on even a portion of this case – ultimately serves the public’s interest and will lead to a faster resolution of the entire case,” she wrote.
The redistricting case dates back to 2018, when voters passed a ballot initiative to create a commission to redraw the congressional district boundaries.
State legislators repealed the ballot initiative in 2020, and attempted to draw their own congressional map the following year.
This prompted a lawsuit, which has led to several rulings, including the one on August 25th, which declared that the Utah Legislature violated voters’ rights by approving congressional boundaries that split Salt Lake County.
“Until there is a final decision on these legal issues from our Supreme Court, there will be a cloud on Utah’s congressional elections and an open question regarding the power of the Legislature and the power of the people,” Gibson wrote in her most recent ruling.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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