No. 12 Oregon got back to the top of the leaderboard at the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate after slipping in back-to-back events. The Ducks shot three-under 861 at the Par 72 Outlaw Course at The Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Arizona to win the event by 12 strokes.

Aaron Wise earned his second event win of his young career with a 9-under 207 to lead all participants. Thomas Lim shot a five-under 211 to finish in a tie for third place. Lim’s six-under second round was the team’s best single round score.

Zach Foushee finished the event with a six-over 222 while Nigel Lett shot  10-over 226. Brandon McIver struggled through the first two rounds, but finished with a strong three-under 69 third round to finish at 16-over at the bottom of the Oregon scorecard.

With the win, Oregon now has five tournament victories, which still ranks amongst the nation’s best. The Ducks slipped a bit in Golfweek’s rankings after less-than-impressive outings at The Prestige and Cowboy Intercollegiate, but will surely regain a bit of their standing after beating out teams like No. 17 Florida, Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan.

Oregon returns to action in just two weeks, as the Ducks will host the annual Duck Invitational event at the Eugene Country Club March 23-24.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter 

The post Oregon men’s golf returns to winning ways at Desert Mountain Intercollegiate appeared first on Emerald Media.

Game three of Oregon’s weekend series with UCSB locked the teams into a pitcher’s duel. Jack Karraker battled UCSB’s Justin Jacome deep into the game, but a Gaucho home run decided the 1-0 contest.

Jacome (2-1) was dominant. The lefty allowed just three hits and struck out 10 batters in eight shutout innings. Oregon (10-2) could only mount two rallies against Jacome – once in the fourth and again in the eighth – but Jacome stranded the bases loaded in both innings.

James Carter came in for the save after Jacome allowed a leadoff single to Phil Craig-St.Louis in the ninth inning, but Oregon promptly put Carter in the small-ball cycle.

Mark Karaviotis bunted Craig-St. Louis to second, then a wild pitch moved the tying run to third.

J.B. Bryant and Shaun Chase had opportunities to bring Craig-St. Louis home, but Bryant struck out and Chase popped out to end the game.

Cameron Newell’s solo home run in the bottom of the fourth stood as the lone run of the game, but the Ducks held the Gauchos to just four hits, with no hits with runners on base.

Karraker (1-1) finished with six innings pitched, three hits and just one run allowed.

Steven Nogosek continued his scoreless streak, but allowed his first hit of the season with one hit and two strikeouts in 1.1 innings  out of the bullpen. Garrett Cleavinger finished the game out with 0.2 innings of scoreless relief.

Craig-St. Louis led the Oregon offense with two hits, while Matt Eureste, Mitchell Tolman and Brandon Cuddy each picked up one hit against Jacome.

The Ducks will return to action next Friday for a weekend series with St. John’s at P.K. Park.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @Josh Schlichter

The post A solo home run for UCSB proves to be the difference in 1-0 win over Oregon baseball appeared first on Emerald Media.

It’s just like old times.

Steve Sarkisian is back in Los Angeles and with the NCAA scholarship limits behind him, brought USC back to the top of the recruiting rankings. Teams like UCLA and Arizona State did their best to keep up, but the Trojans ran away with the 2015 recruiting class.

Sarkisian locked down every prospect he recruited on national signing day. Rasheem Green, John Houston and Iman Marshall colluded after Chuma Edoga signed to give USC four 5-star recruits.

Green and Marshall are even slated to make a run at starting positions on USC’s stacked defense.

Combine this recruiting class with USC’s already young roster and the Trojans are looking like a major contender for the Pac-12 title next year.

Of course, their cross-town rival UCLA did what it could to keep up with the Trojans on signing day.

The Bruins inked multiple out of state prospects like Chris Clark, Soso Jamabo and Cordell Broadus while bolstering their thin offensive line with multiple interior line prospects. They then watched the class’ No. 1 linebacker Roquan Smith back out of his letter of intent after defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich left UCLA for a job with the Atlanta Falcons.

While the nation’s No. 1 quarterback prospect Josh Rosen will headline this class, the Bruins deserve a lot of credit for maintaining a respectable distance between their class and USC’s on NSD.

Arizona State finished third in the conference on signing day and picked up 4-star athlete Jaason Lewis’ commitment over Ole Miss. On the other hand, ASU lost out on Broadus, Houston and Green all on the same day and even saw Oregon State steal a commitment from them.

The Sun Devils still have a respectable class, but can’t be pleased by the way they closed.

Outside of those teams, no Pac-12 school made big waves on signing day.

Stanford had a relatively quiet class with just five 4-stars, while Washington, Cal, Arizona and Utah stockpiled 3-star recruits.

At the bottom of the conference, Mike Leach continued to grasp at smoke in Pullman and Gary Andersen fell victim to a late start in the recruiting cycle at Oregon State.

Leach might have flipped defensive end T.J. Fehoko from Colorado, but had to suffer through multiple losses on signing day. Jonah Moi flipped to Oregon, wide receiver Deontay Burnett decided to walk-on with a blueshirt offer at USC, cornerback Taeon Mason flipped to lowly San Jose State and 4-star linebacker Kyavha decided to sign with San Diego State.

At least for now, the Pac-12 South looks like the division of the future out west.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

Last Tuesday, the Ducks were on the wrong side of the bubble and staring at an NIT bid. But after Oregon beat Colorado and upset Utah at Matthew Knight Arena, it found itself on numerous bracket projections as one of the last teams in.

CBS’s Jerry Palm and TeamRankings have Oregon as a No. 10 seed in the Southern bracket, but analysts like ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and DRatings say the Ducks would have to participate in the First Four as a No. 12 seed to make the round of 64.

Fortunately for the Ducks, their season isn’t over. Oregon has a few opportunities to boost its RPI ranking and improve its potential seeding.

Oregon is now No. 45 in the RPI, making it the third highest ranked team in the Pac-12. The Ducks face California and Stanford next week, then end the season at Oregon State. Going 3-0 over that stretch would give Oregon a 9-2 record over teams ranked 51-100 in the RPI, a record that could rival teams in the RPI top 20.

Unfortunately for Oregon, all three games are going to be far from favorable match ups.

(Data via KenPom)

Oregon’s visit to Berkley is the final game that advanced metrics have Oregon favored in. That of course, means nothing to fans who have followed Duck basketball over the past six years. Cal has beaten Oregon 12 consecutive times dating back to 2008, making Dana Altman 0-7 against the Golden Bears.

Stanford has been a major stitch in Oregon’s side for a few years as well. The Cardinal ended the Ducks’ nine-game winning streak in 2013 and edged Oregon in Eugene by two points in 2014.

Meanwhile, Oregon State has compiled a 15-1 record at Gill Coliseum.

So instead of worrying about improving its record, Oregon should be concerned about hurting its resume before the Pac-12 tournament in March.

(Data via KenPom)

Simulations reveal that Oregon has a 43 percent chance to go 1-2 over the final stretch and finish with a record over 21-10.

(Data via TeamRankings)

When accounting for the strength of the individual wins, TeamRankings gives Oregon significantly better odds to make the NCAA tournament if the team can reach 22 wins, which would require a 2-1 record to end the season.

One win to close out the season keeps Oregon in the conversation, but two or more can virtually guarantee Oregon an at-large bid, regardless of how it performs in the conference tournament.

Of course, don’t count Oregon out for that automatic qualifying bid. If Oregon finishes the regular season as the No. 3 team in the Pac-12, it will receive a first-round bye and line itself up for a rematch with the No. 2 seed Utah in the semi-final.

Beating Arizona might be a bit of a stretch, but stranger things have happened in conference tournaments, particularly with teams like Oregon State and Stanford on the Wildcats’ half of the bracket.

As of Tuesday, Oregon is in. But even with a win over an RPI top 25 team, the Ducks still have a bit of work to do before the season is over to punch its invitation to the Big Dance.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

The No. 2 Oregon men’s golf team has had a busy week.

The Ducks competed in multiple top-tier events in Southern California, sent Brandon McIver to a sponsor’s exemption event and picked up a $50,000 prize for the program.

The Prestige

The Ducks turned in their worst performance of the season to start the week long road trip with a 13th place finish at The Prestige. The team carded a 22-over 886 in the three round event, 53 strokes behind of the event winner Arizona State.

NTO Collegiate Showcase

Brandon McIver played for an exemption to the Northern Trust Open, which would have pitted him against multiple professional golfers, but fell just a few strokes short of qualifying.

Meanwhile, in the best-ball portion of the event, head coach Casey Martin played alongside two amateurs and won $50,000 for the Oregon golf program with a combined score of 13-under 58.

“Jim and Terry hit some clutch shots down the stretch to help us win,” Martin told GoDucks.com. “I hit a couple birdies and they played great the entire round.”

Cowboy Desert Intercollegiate

The Ducks returned to form over the weekend in Palm Springs at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate with a fifth place finish. Oregon’s 8-over 296 was led by Zach Foushee’s 4-under 68, which placed seventh on the individual leaderboard.

Thomas Lim was tied for fourth through two rounds, but shot 4-over in the final round to finish in a tie for 15th-place at 2-over 218.

College golf rankings and ratings

Despite dropping considerably in Golfweek’s team rankings to No. 17, Oregon maintained a few first place votes in the Golfweek Coaches Poll with a No. 2 ranking.

The Ducks get two weeks off before playing in the Desert Mountain Intercollegiate in Scottsdale, Arizona March 6-7.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

– Oregon men’s basketball earned its first quality win of the season after upsetting No. 9 Utah at Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday. Freshman Dillon Brooks had a career day with 19 points and a nasty dunk that made SportCenter’s Top 10.

– Oregon baseball swept New Mexico State in PK Park’s opening series with a combination of explosive offense and dominant pitching.

– Acrobatics and Tumbling paid tribute to the late Lauren Jones this weekend and held a candlelight vigil on Sunday evening after defeating Concordia-Wisconsin.

– Oregon men’s and women’s tennis kept their respective winning streaks going with wins over Santa Clara.

– Marcus Mariota performed gallantly at the NFL Combine this weekend with the best 40-yard dash time amongst quarterbacks for this draft class.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

The Four Factors:

• Field goal percentage (eFG): Regular field goal percentage with additional weight given to three-pointers
• Turnover rate (TOV): Measurement of ball security
• Rebounding percentage (Reb): Percentage of the possible rebounds an offense or defense collects
• Free throw rate (FTR): Rate at which a team gets to the foul line, or fouls the opposing team

The moment the Oregon men’s basketball team has wanted is finally here. After Joseph Young guaranteed that the Ducks would make the NCAA tournament on Tuesday, there is even more pressure on the team to pick up a much needed quality win over No. 9 Utah.

Despite Young’s confidence and Oregon’s record at Matthew Knight Arena this season, Utah (21-4, 11-2) is ironclad statistically. The Ducks (19-8, 9-5) will need a lot of things to go their way on Sunday to come out with the win.

Utah might have the reputation of being a grind-it-out, defense-first team, but the Utes also have one of the best offenses in the country. Utah has the highest effective field goal and three point percentages in the Pac-12 and ranks second in two point and free throw percentages.

The largest part of Utah’s success on offense is Delon Wright. Wright is the nation’s premier scoring guard with a unique physical style that boosts his numbers on defense as well. This year, Wright has averaged 14.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game, making him the perfect candidate for several national Player of the Year awards.

On the other hand, Wright has been in Salt Lake for four years now, and the Utes just broke into national prominence this season. Utah’s biggest catalyst for the 2015 season also happens to be the biggest player on its team in center Jakob Poeltl.

Poeltl is shooting 67.7 percent from the field and averages 7.4 rebounds per game, but he doesn’t contribute much on the scoreboard, with 8.9 points per game. Still, the seven-footer’s biggest impact has been on the boards. Poeltl is ranked No. 9 nationally in offensive rebound percentage and is amongst the top-10 defensive rebounders in the Pac-12.

Utah’s Jordan Loveridge and Brandon Taylor round out the offensive attack with a good mix of scoring and play making ability.

Loveridge mans the small forward position, operates as a catch-and-shoot perimeter player and averages 10.2 points per game with a 46.8 percent clip from three point range.

Taylor is an efficient point guard and tops the conference in effective field goal percentage, true shooting percentage and assist rate despite only participating in roughly 20 percent of Utah’s possessions. Taylor has averaged 10.8 points and 3.6 assists this season.

Outside of field goal percentage, however, Utah’s numbers come back down to earth. The Utes turn the ball over at a normal rate and struggle to collect offensive rebounds.

The Ducks have maintained a high effective field goal percentage and turnover rate, good enough for third and fourth best in the Pac-12 respectively, but they have struggled as much as the Utes have on the offensive boards.

Oregon might have the advantage in turnover percentage and offensive rebounding, but Utah is so much more efficient that those two factors alone won’t change the chances that Utah will outpace Oregon’s offense on Sunday.

On the other side of the floor, Utah has maintained its gaudy statistics. The Utes have the best effective field goal percentage against in the Pac-12 and are at the top of the conference in nearly every other defensive metric.

Utah’s aggressive man defense has prevented teams from converting any set plays on offense, as the Utes have the Pac-12’s best assist to field goal against percentage. They also rebound at a good rate and rarely foul ball handlers.

Simply put, Oregon won’t be able to score against Utah in its typical fashion. There won’t be any openings in the paint, and the Utes have shown they can defend the perimeter just as well as the interior this season.

If Oregon is going to have a chance at wining this game, it will need all of the bounces to go its way. The Ducks need to convert turnovers, generate hustle plays and benefit from a questionable call or two to stick around, then rely on Young to deliver the win in the game’s waning moments.

KenPom gives Oregon a 20 percent chance to beat Utah, the lowest odds the Ducks have faced since visiting Tucson last month. If there was ever a moment for the Ducks to defy the odds, this would be it.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

The Oregon men’s basketball team overcame a slow start and finish in a 73-60 win over Colorado at Matthew Knight Arena on Wednesday night.

Colorado (12-13, 5-8) jumped out to an 11-4 lead before Oregon (19-8, 9-5) went on a 35-11 run to close out the first half. In the second half, the Buffs mounted a late run to get within two possessions, but Oregon responded again to lock down the “must-win” game.

“That’s kind of the way our games have been going: first half, second half,” head coach Dana Altman said. “They beat us in transition. It wasn’t good, that second half. We didn’t sprint back and they sensed that.”

Colorado outscored the Ducks 16-10 in transition, while Oregon allowed 20 offensive rebounds and lost the rebounding total 45-37. Still, Colorado could only convert 12 second chance points all game long.

“We got out-rebounded, but we played pretty tough on the boards,” Dwayne Benjamin said.

On offense, the Ducks got contributions from across lineup. Four Oregon players finished in double digits, while holding the Colorado offense to just 35 percent shooting on the night.

Joseph Young continued his tear and led the team with 23 points, six assists and three rebounds. With Young hitting his shots, the Colorado defense neglected Oregon’s other options on offense.

Dillon Brooks found open looks and finished with 14 points and six rebounds, Elgin Cook did what he could on the block for 13 additional points, while Benjamin pulled down 13 rebounds and netted 11 points to round out the Oregon attack.

After shooting 58 percent in the first half, Oregon’s offense took a dip in the second half. Early in the second period, Oregon had a 42-22 lead, but Colorado started an 18-9 run to get within single digits with 11:58 to go.

The Buffs kept grinding late into the second half, and with 4:09 remaining, Colorado hit its second three pointer of the night to cut its deficit to just five points at 63-58.

But Oregon quickly answered with a three of its own and never looked back, coasting to a relatively easy Pac-12 win.

Colorado’s late push came from point guard Askia Booker and forward Josh Scott. Booker had just six points at halftime, but finished with 20 points on 10-12 night from the free-throw line. Scott finished with 10 points, but pulled down 17 rebounds, giving his team a fighting chance at the end of the game.

Regardless, the Ducks emerged with a much needed win in its final favorable matchup for the rest of the season. With No. 9 Utah set to visit Matthew Knight Arena on Sunday, the Ducks are at their season’s critical moment.

“I’m just excited to play again,” Benjamin said. “We just want to play every game, no matter what it is. We know it will be big for what we want to get to so we’re going to come out here and we’re going to fight.”

Tipoff for Oregon’s matchup with Utah is scheduled for 12 p.m.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

With signing day now in the books, it’s time to wrap up the class of 2015 and look ahead to 2016. The Emerald caught up with Scout.com’s National Director of Recruiting Brandon Huffman to go over some of the key recruiting storylines on the Oregon trail.

What was your initial impression on Oregon’s recruiting class?

It’s a solid class, typical Oregon, a couple of highly-ranked guys, a slew of guys that fit their system to a T, and a couple of sleepers that Oregon typically gets the most out of. Overall, I’d rate it an A-. They missed on some prep linebackers, but across the board, it’s a solid class.

After watching UCLA and USC clean up on NSD, how big of a gap is there between those schools and Oregon’s recruiting class?

Basing it on stars and rankings, there is a gap, but again, no one in the Pac-12 does a better job developing their guys than Oregon. So fits in their system are the key, not the highly-ranked guys. Plus, UCLA and USC sit on a better recruiting base. So while the gap is there, the evaluations and development close that gap.

Have you heard of any differences between Mark Helfrich and Chip Kelly on the recruiting trail?

Helfrich is a little more liberal in giving out offers (key words- a little more). They still go through the whole background process like Kelly did, but they’re more willing to give offers early on. They still don’t bring in a lot of guys for visits unless its a legitimate and sincere interest in Oregon.

How have Oregon’s younger position coaches impacted the team’s recruiting compared to some of the team’s longer tenured coaches?

I still think the biggest impact of recruiters comes from their older coaches like Don Pellum, John Neal and Steve Greatwood. Those guys have a longstanding rep in certain parts of the country, and Oregon wisely capitalizes on that. The younger coaches don’t have as big a group to recruit from, particularly Scott Frost, though Matt Lubick does to a larger extent.

Who are the biggest prospects on Oregon’s board in 2016?

Aside from their commits like Brady Breeze, Dillon Mitchell and Seth Green, their top prospects include Portland LB Lamar Winston from Central Catholic, Bend Summit TE Cam McCormick and Westlake WR Theo Howard.

Outside of the L.A. schools, which Pac-12 schools have made the biggest strides with recruits for future classes?

Oregon definitely has- their class right now has two Top 300 guys and another, Breeze, just outside. Only UCLA and USC have a better early class in the Pac-12.

Follow Brandon Huffman on Twitter @brandonhuffman

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter

No. 22 Oregon baseball took all the time it needed to find its offense, but edged Hawaii 3-2 in a thrilling finale to the four game season opening series at Les Murakami Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Hawaii (1-3) kept the Ducks (3-1) off the scoreboard until the ninth inning and got the winning run on base in the bottom of the frame, but couldn’t prevent Oregon’s  comeback.

Hawaii’s starter Kyle Von Ruden posted 5.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts, two walks and just four hits allowed, then turned the ball over to his bullpen, which kept Oregon at bay until the final inning.

Trailing 2-0, Phil Craig-St. Louis started the ninth with a seven pitch walk and advanced to second on a Jakob Goldfarb pinch-hit infield single. Steven Packard bunted the runners into scoring position, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate.

J.B. Bryant delivered the first RBI of the game on a fielder’s choice, setting up pinch-hitter Tim Susnara with one out and the bases loaded.

Susanna came through with the big hit, singling through the right side to tie the game at 2-2.

After blowing the save, Hawaii’s reliever Eric Gleese (0-1) had to face the heart of the Oregon lineup with the game on the line.

Mitchell Tolman kept the rally going with another RBI single to the right, giving Oregon its first lead in 18 innings at 3-2.

In the bottom half of the ninth, Garrett Cleavinger ran into trouble.

The closer walked the first batter he faced and watched him advance to second on a sacrifice bunt. During the next at bat, a passed ball moved the tying run up to third base with only one out.

Cleavinger (2) set up a double play opportunity with an intentional walk, but ended up not needing it. The lefty worked back-to-back pop ups to strand the tying run at third and end the game.

Oregon’s fourth starter Jack Karraker didn’t pick up the win, but was impressive in his 5.0 innings of work. Karraker allowed seven hits, but limited the ‘Bows to just two runs on 76 pitches.

Stephen Nogosek (1-0) came in for Karraker in the sixth and picked up the win with a dominant three innings of scoreless relief.

Heading into the final inning, Brandon Cuddy was Oregon’s lone bright spot on offense with a single and a double against the stingy Hawaii pitching staff.

With the win, Oregon secured its first series win of the young season and has to feel good about how it picked itself up after two tough days at the plate.

The Ducks will return to Eugene this week for its home opener against New Mexico State at P.K. Park on Thursday night.

Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter