Five of those turnovers came from freshman point guard Dominic Artis, who was the Ducks top commitment in the 2013 class as a four-star, top 50 recruit (top five PG). There are going to be some growing pains for Artis as evidenced by the turnover totals, but he was one of four starters to hit double-digits. Fellow frosh Waverly Austin also had five turnovers in 11 minutes off the bench, which is ten minutes less than what Artis played.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Fellow freshman starter Damyean Dotson also figures to be used heavily here on out, and he was the most efficient player on the Ducks in a 5-8 day with six rebounds. Tony Woods is going to be a huge part of the team’s success this year, and the top defensive big led the way with two blocks and had seven rebounds. He led the team with 14 points.

As a team, Oregon hit 48.3% of their shots and controlled the glass with 42 rebounds. However, turnovers kill teams and Oregon was down 67-66 at one point later in the game. In fact, the Ducks turned the ball over on one-fifth of their possessions. Other than that, they dominated Northern Arizona in every other facet of the game and averaged 1.04 points per possession (.92 for the Lumberjacks).

It was a solid win for the Ducks, but it was too close for comfort at points in the second-half. The MVP of the game was clearly Woods, who was solid on the glass, dominant on defense, and he was efficient on offense with a team-high 14 points.

The freshmen impressed me in this one, and it’s tough not to feel great about the future of Oregon basketball. The five of them combined for 101 minutes of action and 43 points, 19 rebounds, six assists, five steals, but also 12 turnovers.

247Sports reported that four-star wide receiver MarQuez North has co-leaders in UNC and Tennessee, and that both teams are even at the top of his recruitment. However, the Oregon Ducks could get an official visit from the top 75 2013 prospect. North has an official trip scheduled to Columbus to visit the Ohio State Buckeyes, and he also has interest in the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs. The Clemson Tigers were also mentioned as a team that could get a visit from North in the 247 piece.

It’s going to be interesting to see if the Ducks can get an official visit from him, because North is the top prospect in the state of North Carolina in this class and is a top ten wideout overall. He runs a 4.4 forty time and is a big-play threat who gets to the end zone often for Mallard Creek.

The California Golden Bears 59-17 blowout loss at home did not affect their standing with high-end three-star cornerback Cameron Walker, as the talented L.A. recruit put Cal in his final three. He has his final visit scheduled for the Wisconsin Badgers next week after visiting Cal and Boise State. All three of those teams are in his top three. Cal’s loss is definitely defensible, because an incredibly high amount of their best players were out for this game and the Oregon Ducks are just insanely good.

Walker is rated as one of the best 40 CBs in the 2013 class, a top 50 recruit in the state of California, and a top 500 recruit overall.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

One of the top 200 recruits in the 2014 class, Mixon can play at either running back or outside linebacker and is ranked by 247Sports has the 20th best athlete in the class. He received offers  yesterday from the Colorado Buffaloes and Washington and snagged another Pac-12 offer today from the California Golden Bears. He also has in-conference offers from the Washington Huskies and Oregon State Beavers.

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The offer from Cal today was his first from an in-state school, and he already has some high early interest in the school. The 6’2″, 195 pound Freedom High standout is one of the top 20 recruits in the state of California and is also interested in the Washington Huskies. The 1,100-yard rusher also took it to the house 24 times last season and is being looked at by major programs such as Alabama, Miami, Oklahoma, Boise State, UCLA, USC, and Nebraska.

The top four-star recruit took an official trip to California, and the Oregon Ducks have become a recent elite team to take a closer look at the talented athlete. Running backs coach Gary Campbell checked in on Joe Mixon yesterday, and these past two days have been absolutely huge for Mixon.

Lorenzo Featherston picked up an offer from the Clemson Tigers yesterday, but Dabo Swinney will have to compete heavily with UNC for the defensive end. The Tar Heels offered him last month and are in a high standing in his recruitment, along with the SEC’s Tennessee Volunteers. Featherston also has early interest in the Oregon Ducks and Nebraska Cornhuskers.

UNC has shown very high interest in the Greensboro prospect, as they have hosted him on an unofficial visit and sent Deke Adams to check on him last month before offering him five days later. Clemson is the third school to have offered Featherston, and Florida, N.C. State, and Virginia Tech have also shown interest. The 6’7″ DE has received heavy interest from the ACC and SEC, and he currently has three teams in the Carolinas taking a look at him.

It will be interesting to see how Oregon responds to the interest they have been getting from Featherston early on in the process for the hyper-athletic 2014 pass rusher.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.

Mar 17, 2012; Louisville, KY, USA; Marquette Golden Eagles forward Jae Crowder (32) battles Murray State Racers forward Ivan Aska (42) for a rebound during the first half in the third round of the 2012 NCAA men

They call it March Madness for a reason, right? This year’s NCAA Tournament has lived up to the hype in which March Madness receives year in and year out. There are teams like North Carolina St., Florida, Ohio, and Cincinnati that many did not have in their Sweet 16 brackets. With the Sweet 16 starting up this Thursday, I have decided to break down each match-up and predict of who I think will win each game and advance into the Elite Eight this Saturday and Sunday.