Utah News

That was the sort of outrage posted to social media after the Jazz…*checks notes*…won their second game in a row over three matches? No, of course not the lineup — or concept of one — the Sacramento Kings threw into the fire in Utah’s 121-93 victory last night in the Delta Center. But there’s still one more test for the Jazz to experiment with their vile ways on, as the divisional rival Portland Trail Blazers are in town. They find themselves in a pickle with a 26-29 record without a head coach, replaced by interim coach Tiago Splitter. Man, just yesterday, he was hitting hook shots over Chris Bosh in the Finals. However, they remain undefeated over the Jazz in the regular season, winning their last two matches against this squad. But because of peer pressure from basketball minds such as Bobby Marks, the Jazz have been forced back to their winning ways; at least three quarters of competitive basketball is what you can expect to receive due to the league’s intervention to make sure the Jazz aren’t disgracefully resting their good players. Despicable. Vile. Unethical. Anyways, the Pacers just played a lineup of two-way players and guys on 10-day contracts.

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But with both teams coming off a back-to-back one game before the All-Star break, who knows what atrocities you can expect to see on the injury report? Or maybe there won’t be any casualties at all, considering the Jazz are one of the only teams without a single participant during All-Star Weekend in LA. Sadly, no Ace Bailey in Rising Stars, no Cody Williams in the Dunk Contest, or Lauri Markkanen in the main event, because Brandon Ingram was allowed to replace the injured Steph Curry, for reasons that can only be explained by Adam Silver.

You can expect Keyonte George to be out throughout the break due to his lingering ankle issues. I saw a full quarter of the newly established big three, and that was enough excitement to keep me patient until 2027. But even without him, the Jazz have created a revolution. The finger-pointing shall be no more: since Jackson Jr.’s debut, the Jazz have posted the third-best defensive rating in the NBA at 101.6. In context, they’re the worst-rated defensive team all season, with a 120.9 rating. That’s…wow. I need a moment to sit down. I’m a proud parent watching my kid put the square-shaped object into the square hole. I watched them get taken out by the mighty Hornets, getting 150 points getting dropped on their dome, and now I bear witness to them putting a halt to the unstoppable Kings as they score a measly 93.

Okay, maybe the Magic, Heat, and Kings are not top-tier offensive juggernauts. But neither is Portland: they hold the 22nd-best offense and the 19th-best defensive rating. They’re one of those teams trying to cash in, despite one of the most brutal Western Conference skill gaps in existence. There is the idea that a strong, lengthy lineup they pose will be able to outrebound and outwork you, ranking second in the league in offensive rebound percentage at 34.5%. They score 18.4 second-chance points a game due to these opportunities. I love rooting for underdogs like ourselves, but I don’t believe they can escape unscathed and make a deep playoff run in the West. As a mid-level team, scrapping for the playoffs? You have my support, dear friend.

They struggle to find their identity without newly found superstar Deni Avdija — a driving specialist who draws some of the most fouls in the NBA. He attempts around 9.4 free throws in a game, hitting them at an 80.2% clip. Defenses often have to collapse on him, but how will he fare when facing Jaren Jackson Jr. for two and a half quarters? The Jazz can now proudly limit his rim-finishes, making him more reliant on facilitating and perimeter shooting. His assist numbers might rise, but scoring efficiency drops.

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Utah will probably want to tug on the reins a little bit. Under no circumstances would anyone want to gift OKC a free lottery pick. The Jazz could probably still circumvent the media’s thunderstorm of anti-tank extremism; they just have to, y’know, not mess with DraftKing’s—I mean, the NBA’s glorious integrity.

Injury Report

Jazz:

OUT – Keyonte George (right ankle sprain), Walker Kessler (left shoulder surgery)

Trail Blazers:

QUESTIONABLE – Shaedon Sharpe (left calf soreness), Kris Murray (lumbar strain)

OUT – Matisse Thybulle (left thumb UCL tear), Damian Lillard (torn achilles)

How to watch:

Who: Utah Jazz (18-27) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (26-29)

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When: February 12th, 7:00PM Mountain Time

Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City

Channel: Jazz+, KJZZ

Radio: 97.5/1280 The Zone

With only three weeks left in the regular season, both Utah and Arizona State went into their matchup Wednesday night desperately needing a win.

The Utes and Sun Devils are both viewed as NCAA bubble teams, and while a loss wouldn’t burst those hopes, a win would bolster that resume in a contest that counted as a Quad 2 game for both schools.

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On this night at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Arizona, it was Arizona State who got a much-needed 71-61 victory.

The Sun Devils had an answer every time Utah, which only led for 32 seconds all night, tried to rally and take the lead, led by the efforts of Gabby Elliott and McKinna Brackens.

The win gives Arizona State (20-6, 7-6 Big 12) a sweep over Utah (16-9, 7-6 Big 12), after defeating the Utes 69-68 at the Huntsman Center in late December.

It’s also the first back-to-back losses for Utah in Big 12 play this season.

Turnovers were a major storyline in the contest, as Utah struggled with giving the ball away, an ongoing issue for the Utes this season.

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The Utes had seven turnovers in the first half and 12 at halftime before finishing the game with 21. That included two in the final minute and a half, when Utah was trying to rally one last time.

Arizona State cashed those takeaways into 16 points, while Utah scored 11 points off 11 Sun Devil turnovers.

Lani White had five turnovers for Utah, Chyra Evans added four and Reese Ross and Brooke Walker each finished with three.

“It’s continuing, the same people, and it’s really just being able to throw the ball to an open teammate. We’re throwing it out of bounds,” Utah coach Gavin Petersen said said in his postgame interview on ESPN 700 AM. “This was a physical game. That’s what ASU is known for, but we’ve got to do a better job in that regard of taking care of the basketball.

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“Every team we play from here on out is going to pressure us. We work on it in practice against guys, our Red Army practice squad, and we do fine. And then the game lights come on and we forget everything regarding fundamentals.”

Despite never leading over the final three and a half quarters, the Utes managed to stick around thanks to high-scoring games from White (19 points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal) and Maty Wilke (17 points, four rebounds, three steals, two assists, one block).

After going into halftime trailing by three, Utah had a chance to take the lead in the third quarter.

First, the Utes tied the game at 39-39 on an LA Sneed 3. A little over a minute of game time later, Evelina Otto scored off an Arizona State turnover to make it a 42-41 game.

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Utah came up with a stop, but White couldn’t hit a 3-point attempt that would have given the Utes their first lead since 9-8.

Then, on the Sun Devils’ next possession, Last-Tear Poa raced in for an offensive rebound, then kicked out to Elliott, who nailed a 3-pointer to make it 45-41.

While both teams finished with 11 second-chance points, that 3 loomed large as a major pivot point for the Sun Devils.

Eventually, Arizona State pushed its lead to 54-43 in the early moments of the fourth quarter, only for Utah to go on a 7-0 run to make it a 54-50 game with 7:19 to play.

That was the last time the Utes got as close as within four, though, as Martina Fantini stopped the run with a shot that bounced around the rim before falling in, then Elliott scored six straight points for the Sun Devils as they maintained a safe lead.

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Elliott had 19 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists to pace Arizona State, while Brackens added 14 points, six assists, three blocks and two rebounds.

Though Utah out-rebounded Arizona State 39-25, the Sun Devils shot five more field goals — thanks to the turnover differential — and were 45.5% from the floor, compared to Utah’s 38%.

Arizona State was also more efficient from 3-point range, making 7 of 13, while the Utes were 6 of 25.

“Credit to them. We had them working all game for the most part, deep into the shot clock on the defensive end. Then it was one moment of just relaxation, and you have Elliott being able to capitalize on that, Brackens being able to capitalize,” Petersen said.

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“They made some tough shots, and we got to do a better job of closing possessions. I thought we relaxed as well on some O-board opportunities, especially early in that third quarter, when we started to get some energy and momentum going. Those things, especially when you’re on the road, you cannot do so. We’ve got to be able to close out those type of games.”

With the loss, Utah falls to 2-8 in Quad 2 games, though it is buoyed by a 2-1 record against Quad 1 opponents.

Arizona State, meanwhile, moved to 7-1 against Quad 2 opponents, along with an 0-3 mark in Quad 1 games.

The Utes will return Saturday to face Cincinnati (5 p.m. MST, ESPN+) in a game where the program’s all-time winningest head coach, Elaine Elliott, will be honored at halftime.

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“You know the tradition, rich program we have here at Utah. It wasn’t built overnight. Elaine Elliott is the all-time winningest coach in program history. This is a great honor that she is receiving,” Petersen said.

“… We have three more games at home, and we need as much support to get us over that hump, and we’re right there. We just need a little bit more help.”

Prosecutors in Utah have filed a first-degree felony rape charge against Brigham Young University standout wide receiver Parker Kingston, officials said Wednesday.

Kingston, 21, is being held without bail in St. George, a city near Arizona, Washington County prosecutors said. His initial appearance in court is scheduled for Friday.

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The investigation began last February, prosecutors said in a news release. A woman who was 20 years old at the time told officers at a St. George hospital that Kingston assaulted her on Feb. 23, 2025, prosecutors said. Police gathered digital and forensic evidence and interviewed the parties involved and other witnesses, prosecutors said.

It was not clear if Kingston had an attorney. He didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment. A phone message left for his family was not immediately returned.

BYU said in a statement that it takes any allegation very seriously, and will cooperate with law enforcement. It said it would not be able to comment further due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students.

Kingston had a team-leading 67 receptions and 928 yards with five TD catches last season. He also rushed for 199 yards on 25 carries with a score, and returned 17 punts for 230 yards and a TD.

The Utah Jazz have found a brilliant loophole around that policy while still finding a way to tank. In the last two games, the Jazz started Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkić . Granted, Nurk isn’t a star player, but he’s being lumped in with All-Stars Markkanen and JJJ for a reason here. All three players started in Orlando and in Miami this past week. All three combined to play zero fourth-quarter minutes. In both games. All three clocked in at 25 minutes in the first three quarters and then sat in the fourth quarters of both games. In Orlando, the tanking worked like a charm. The Jazz gave up a 33-23 quarter to the Magic and lost the game by three. It did not work Monday night against the Heat. Utah accidentally won that game 115-111. When Jazz coach Will Hardy was asked after the Heat win whether he considered putting Markkanen or Jackson back in the game in the fourth, he answered simply: “No.”

New York Times

Although tanking has been around in the NBA since time immemorial, the issue has been brought to the forefront once again after the Utah Jazz‘s curious strategy late in games against the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat.

Even though they had prolific big men, Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr., healthy and in uniform, Jazz head coach Will Hardy elected not to play either in the fourth quarters of the said contests. Against the Magic, even though the game hung in the balance in the final stanza, the Jazz didn’t even bother to call a single timeout and eventually lost, 120-117.

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The Jazz’s decisions did not go unnoticed by fans and analysts alike. On “NBA Today,” ESPN’s Bobby Marks called out the Jazz and called on the NBA to come up with a suitable measure to stop teams from tanking games.

Messing with the league’s integrity

The NBA is the world’s most prestigious basketball league, renowned for the intense competition that takes place every night. Fans pay big bucks to watch their favorite teams go head-to-head, expecting to see a competitive game until the final buzzer. However, when teams intentionally lose games, it undermines the very essence of what makes the NBA so exciting to watch daily.

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“I think what Utah is doing right now is messing around with the integrity of the NBA,” Marks pointed out. “The ability to sit players, starters in the fourth quarter, to not call timeouts in the fourth quarter. Orlando won the game on Saturday because they basically rested players and it backfired on them last night.”

“So, I think when if you’re the league, you’re looking at it — ‘All right, can we do some gimmicks? Can we alter protections and eliminate protections as far as picks? Or can we put the hammer down?'” he continued.

One former NBA star who was certainly appalled by what he saw the Jazz do was Kenyon Martin, who expressed his disdain for the practice.

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“This disgusting display of non-competitive organizations. I think it’s awful for the game. I think it’s awful for sports. Something has to be done. When you’re making it blatantly obvious like that, the league has to step in,” K-Mart stated.

“It has to be draft picks, some fines. Something has to give. Cuz it’s no good for the fans. If anybody is cheated, it’s the fans in these situations. These people are paying their hard-earned money to come out and see these guys play and cheer and root for them night in and night out, and you go out and do things like that.”

Related: “A lot of these stars that I’ve played with weren’t like that” – Ivica Zubac names James Harden as the most generous teammate he’s ever had

It’s an epidemic

To be fair to the Jazz, they aren’t the only ones who are trying their best to lose as many games as possible. The Washington Wizards actually acquired All-Stars Trae Young and Anthony Davis at the trade deadline, yet have no desire to see them on the court at all this season. The same goes for the Memphis Grizzlies, which finished the game against the Warriors with a virtual G League team.

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“Tank is the biggest problem that the league has right now, and it is an epidemic. The Jazz have become the poster boys. They’re not alone. A third of the league is blatantly tanking right now,” Tim MacMahon commented.

“This is on Adam Silver and the league office to figure out a solution — to figure out how to make it not smart strategy because the best teams in the league have benefited from tanking. That’s the problem,” he emphasized.

Tanking is a smart way to stock up on young, talented players who can elevate a team to elite status in the future. However, there’s a price to pay, and unfortunately, it’s the NBA and the fans who suffer the consequences.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Feb 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“What the Utah Jazz are doing is messing around with the integrity of the game.”

Bobby Marks took to national television to reiterate the discourse that has been poisoning recent NBA discussion — the Utah Jazz are dismantling the sanctity of competition. They’re shredding the fabric of competition; defiling the tapestry of professional basketball. How are they doing this? By losing basketball games

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The Utah Jazz have been at the forefront of NBA debate for the past few months, taking digital body blows from outraged observers and tanking scrutinizers.

Assuming you haven’t kept a tight watch on the bottom of the NBA standings, you’d understandably assume that a team sparking so much controversy would be far and away the ugliest example of their strategy. Surely, considering the growing wave of scrutiny, the Utah Jazz must have the worst record in the league, right?

Nope.

Bottom three?

Wrong again.

Utah sits with a 17-37 record, which is currently sixth-worst in the NBA and 5.5 games ahead of the last-place Kings. So what’s the rub?

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I have a theory, but let me warn you that I’m about to get biblical.

On the Day of Atonement, the ancient Israelites would ritualistically place the burden of their nation’s sin upon a goat. This animal’s role removed all guilt of wrongdoing from its community as it carried the nation’s burden into the wilderness. Distancing themselves from all of their shortcomings and wrongdoings

The Utah Jazz are not the villains of the NBA; they’re the scapegoats. The poster boy for the tankathon. They’re the tanking franchise bearing the weight of the basketball world’s sins.

The Utah Jazz are not the villains of the NBA; they’re the scapegoats.

The fans paid for tickets to watch the Utah Jazz, and that is exactly what they got: Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, and the newly-acquired Jaren Jackson Jr each appeared in this game to Utah’s advantage, pushing the visiting Jazz ahead by as many as 17 points before the game turned to the fourth quarter and those starters reclined on the bench. Fingers laced behind their heads, legs outstretched with ankles crossed, Utah’s stars would not re-enter the game even as the Magic whittled their lead down to single-digits, then one possession, until eventually claiming the lead and victory away from the tanking Jazz.

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Coach Will Hardy employed a similar strategy in the next game, pulling his starters in the fourth quarter and watching as the second unit beat Miami outright, thanks in part to a clutch three-pointer courtesy of third-year player and former first-round pick, Brice Sensabaugh.

Will Hardy has every right to employ the lineups of his choice — that’s what it means to be a head coach — and the NBA won’t punish him or the Jazz for the players he opted to play in crunch time. The moment Adam Silver steps in to declare who can and cannot play in the fourth quarter of a basketball game, that is when the integrity of competition will be compromised, not when a subpar team gives playing time to its bench.

Possibly the loudest whistle-blowers regarding Utah’s sins are the Dallas Mavericks. Yes, that’s right, the very same team that traded away Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis in a ‘win-now’ move to push themselves closer to championship contention. That team was rewarded with a shocking jump to the number-one pick and Cooper Flagg. Just one year prior, the Mavs were hit with a $750,000 fine for tanking, the largest such fine in league history.

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Yet it’s Dallas, the team with the seventh-worst record, just behind the Utah Jazz, who choose to virtue signal, casting the finger of shame toward the unethical Utah Jazz all across social media. They started the movement, and the NBA community is running with it.

‘Ethical tanking’ is a myth. It’s baffling to suggest that one team’s intentional losing is commendable while another’s is vile. It’s hypocrisy. It’s selective outrage. Yet this perspective has leaked into the mainstream, as evidenced by Mark’s ESPN spot.

‘Ethical tanking’ is a myth.

Where is the outcry toward Washington, a team resting its two All-Star acquisitions, as Davis was announced out for the season, and Young still awaits his debut? Where is the hatred for Sacramento as they sit their core on the way to a league-worst standing? The Indiana Pacers, last year’s NBA Finals runners-up who are clinging to a top-four protected pick, announced that their newest center, Ivica Zubac, won’t be making his debut any time soon.

But the Utah Jazz are ridiculed for running their best players for three quarters and cratering in the fourth? Those outraged at the Jazz’s tanking methods are misguided. Tanking is tanking is tanking. Regardless of execution, plenty more NBA teams are losing deliberately — they just have far less press coverage.

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Internet sleuths have their magnifying glass hovering directly over the Jazz; there’s no escaping their dutiful watch now. But the Jazz didn’t invent tanking, nor are they the only one of the NBA’s 30 teams to employ tanking strategies this season or any of the last decade-plus since Philadelphia installed “The Process”.

The system is flawed, and smart teams (especially those who historically struggle to lure in top free agents) are taking advantage. Don’t hate the player, hate the game, because the Utah Jazz are just one cog in the tanking machine.

So what can we do about tanking?

Seemingly, everyone has an idea about how to solve tanking in the NBA. Ideas span from flattening draft odds, employing lottery bans for teams that received a top pick, and even eliminating the lottery altogether, opting for a 30-team rotation that shifts one spot every season.

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I won’t pretend to know the solution for the NBA’s tanking problem — and yes, it is a problem that teams don’t want to win — but I’d suggest that all proposals are taken to Occam’s Razor. In other words, the best solution is often the simplest solution. I don’t subscribe to the idea that small-market teams should be barred from building through the draft in subsequent years. A one-and-done type of draft would be both complicated and unusual.

Basketball is a simple game at its core; complication isn’t the cure for its shortcomings.

Flattening the odds accomplished its original purpose: being detrimental to the worst records in the league and minimizing the reward for hunting that bottom spot in the standings. Since flattening lottery odds, the number-one odds have never been actualized into the number one pick.

Few understand this better than Utah (a franchise that has never had the pleasure of drafting first overall), which finished with the top lottery odds and a 52.1% chance of landing in the top four before sliding to five and picking up Rutgers’ Ace Bailey with their pick. Bailey is the symbol of Utah’s punishment for playing the game the ‘right way’ in 2025. He’s evidence that being the very worst guarantees nothing in the draft lottery, and the physical manifestation of his team’s shortcomings.

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The idea behind dissuading tanking was sound, but more teams than ever are still hunting lottery odds. Utah is no exception, nor are they a red stain on the flawless reputation of the NBA. There are at least seven Utah Jazz equivalents in 2025-26, and it’s time we stop singling out the Jazz for their part in the movement.

Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.

Utah was a heavy home underdog facing No. 3 Houston at the Huntsman Center on Tuesday night.

The visiting Cougars lived up to that billing, delivering the Runnin’ Utes a 66-52 loss on their home floor in a game where Houston led by as many as 22.

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Here are three takeaways that moved Utah to 9-15 overall and 1-10 in Big 12 play on the year.

Houston’s on-ball defense is scary good

The Cougars went on a 13-2 run in the first half, holding Utah scoreless for five minutes at one point to go up 33-18.

The Utes missed six straight field goals in that run, and Houston bottled up Utah’s leading scorer, Terrence Brown, for most of the half — he ended up with 3 first-half points.

He was 1 of 3 in the half, scoring on a driving layup with 2:07 until the break.

To start the second half, Houston forced turnovers on Utah’s first three possessions, and each led to a Cougars bucket.

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Alex Jensen called a timeout to stop the run, but the damage had been done as Houston went back up 40-25 after the Utes ended the first half with a solid stretch.

The Cougars ended up scoring 20 points on 13 Utah turnovers.

Sharp shooting from 3 — and not-so-sharp for Utah

Senior Emanuel Sharp was putting on a 3-point showcase in the Cougars’ win, as he made six first-half 3-pointers, including four straight.

In the second half, he hit back-to-back 3s to push the Houston lead to 48-29.

Sharp ended up making 8 of 13 from 3-point range and finished with a game-high 27 points. The rest of his teammates struggled, as Houston shot 9 of 26 from outside.

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It was a tough night for Utah from 3-point range, as the Utes were 2 of 17.

Houston was simply too good outside a couple solid stretches from Utah

The Utes had their best few minutes of the game late in the first half, when the Utes used a 7-1 run to make it 34-25 at the half.

During that stretch, Houston was 0 of 7 from the field and Utah was able to dictate the pace of play on both ends.

The Utes also managed to make it more of an even game after the Cougars scored 19 of the first 25 points in the second half.

But those small stretches of competitiveness against a top-five team weren’t nearly enough for Utah.

Houston ended up shooting 43.3% for the game, and had 12 second-chance points.

The Utes, meanwhile, shot 44.4% as they fought to the end. Keanu Dawes led Utah with 15 points and eight rebounds.

MILAN — The United States is “still a very welcoming place,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Tuesday at the Milan Cortina Olympics, which have been a focus of global concern about the country’s political direction.

The Republican governor faced pointed questions from European media at a news conference in Milan to promote the 2034 Utah Winter Games, exactly eight years before the opening ceremony.

The past Olympic week in Italy saw opinions on U.S. international diplomacy and domestic politics mixed liberally into the sports.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance was booed by fans at the opening ceremony; African members of the IOC quizzed organizers of the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games about visas for visitors; and U.S. athletes were asked about representing their country at this time — with President Donald Trump joining a backlash against them.

“We care deeply about the political situation that is happening in the United States right now,” Cox said, when asked by a German reporter to compare an upbeat Olympic vision from Utah with news from the U.S. shaped by Washington.

“Those are political issues that will be worked through,” the governor said, reminding that eight years until the Winter Games return to Salt Lake City is “a long ways away, for sure.”

“We have elections just like your country, in Germany. We will see how those things turn out,” said Cox, whose political style has been to promote civility over polarizing divisions.

The governor chided the media for asking U.S. athletes questions beyond sports, while adding “I love that we get to live in a country where people get to speak their minds.”

He suggested what is broadcast on the television news “isn’t the only thing happening in our country.”

“You will find it still a very welcoming place. We are a very welcoming country,” he said. “There are some differences of opinion right now when it comes to the way that laws are being enforced. That will play out.”

Cox shared the news conference with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Utah Winter Games organizing officials including Sarah Hirshland, chief executive of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Hirshland defended Hunter Hess, who Trump called a “real loser” after the freestyle skier said at a news conference he was “not the biggest fan” of all that is happening back home.

“It is important to us to ensure that anyone who is reacting to or commenting on something that someone said understands the totality and the context of what they said,” Hirshland said. “I have all the confidence in the world that every member of Team USA is proud to represent our country and understands the opportunity they have to bring people together.”

“We are all here for that and that’s exactly what we’re going to,” she said.

___

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics