Have yourself a night, Brice Sensabaugh.
The former Buckeye had the best game of his career to date – both in college and the NBA – Wednesday night, even though it came in a losing effort as the Utah Jazz lost to the Chicago Bulls, 128-126.
Sensabaugh scored a career-high 43 points – the most points by a bench player this season – and also notched five rebounds, two assists and two steals in 34 minutes. He made 15 of 22 shots, including five of 10 3-pointers, and made all eight of his free throws.
Brice Sensabaugh (22 years, 74 days) is the 2nd youngest player in Jazz franchise history to total 40+ points in a game, trailing only Donovan Mitchell. https://t.co/XfOuX6AZIu pic.twitter.com/RYICSvjz18
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) January 15, 2026
Sensabaugh started hot and never looked back. The 6-foot-6 forward had 21 points in seven first-quarter minutes, making eight of nine shots from the floor, including all three of his 3-pointers in the opening quarter. His 21 points were the most in any NBA quarter in the last 30 years by a player who started a game on the bench.
Brice Sensabaugh dropped 21 PTS in the 1st quarter tonight.
— Underdog (@Underdog) January 15, 2026
Thats the most points, in any quarter, by a player off the bench in three decades. pic.twitter.com/PhCuGSAftl
21 1Q points for Brice Sensabaugh
— NBA (@NBA) January 15, 2026
He joins Deron Williams (2/27/2010) as the only @utahjazz players to drop 20+ points in a 1Q in the play-by-play era!
Tap to watch: https://t.co/WIunZcQYw4 pic.twitter.com/8X7WzSAlIp
Sensabaugh is the first former Ohio State player to score 40 points in an NBA game since Mike Conley scored a career-high 40 points for the Memphis Grizzlies on March 3, 2019. Sensabaugh's 43 points are the most by a former Buckeye since Michael Redd put up 52 points for the Milwaukee Bucks on March 4, 2007. Redd's career-high was 57 (Nov. 11, 2006).
Through 39 games (eight starts) this season, Sensabaugh is averaging a career-high 11 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 44.4% from the field and 33.2% from beyond the arc in a career-high 20.5 minutes per game. The 22-year-old is in his third NBA season.
In his lone season in Columbus, Sensabaugh averaged 16.3 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 48% from the field and 40.5% from 3-point range during the 2022-23 season. He earned Big Ten All-Freshman honors and was selected 28th overall by the Jazz in the 2023 NBA draft.
