San Jose State at Oregon on Saturday afternoon

Ernie Kent is gone after 13 up-and-down seasons and Phil Knight...er....Mike Bellotti, the then Oregon AD, decided on Dana Altman as a replacement. The latter came west after a successful 16-year run at Creighton.

Altman wasn't the first choice (nor were many of us by our spouses so hey) but should do a fine job once he has a couple of full recruiting seasons. He and the Nike-Oregon imprint already landed Oakland High guard Jabari Brown who will be the top scorer for the Ducks -- but that's next season.

So what has Altman's 2010-2011 squad encountered so far?

* a 97-92 overtime win over North Dakota State

* followed by a 68-56 victory over Denver

* and most recently a 72-70 success over UC Santa Barbara

What is intriguing (who knows if it means anything as yet) is Oregon has trailed at halftime in each of those three victories this season. Plus, each win came on venerable McArthur Court.

Let's sidetrack for a moment here because Oregon moves to a new basketball facility -- Matthew Knight Arena -- on January 13, 2011. At the top of this article is a view of what the new court looks like.

As for the current assembly of basketball talent, as expected, Oregon is down, predicted to be the caboose in the PAC-10.

Fifth-year senior forward Joevan Catron is the leading scorer to date and his play is twined in the second-half comebacks by the Ducks. He has tallied 40 of his 62 points in the second half and is averaging 13.3 points after halftime versus 6.7 points per game in first half. He is an equal opportunity rebounder, having grabbed nine offensively and the same number at the defensive end. Catron has also gone to the foul line a bountiful 33 times in three games. He will be a load inside.

As a team, UO is playing similarly, shooting an abysmal 16.7 percent on three-point attempts in first half play (4-of-24), while hitting 38% in the second half (10-of-26).

Conversely, Oregon's foes are shooting 64.0 percent on three-pointers in the first half (16-of-25), yet 28.6% in the second stanza (6-of-21).

E.J. Singler, brother of Duke's Kyle, is averaging 12.7 points and 6.3 rebounds a contest.

6-foot Malcom Armstead and 6-foot-4 Teondre Williams are also averaging in double figures at 10.3 and 10.0 a game respectively. Armstead is the point but his assist-to-turnover ration stands at 13/11. Williams is at 57% shooting from long range, 44% overall so it's likely he'll be found some distance away from the basket.

5-foot-11 Jay-R Stowbridge comes in at 9 points per game and 5-foot-8 freshman Jonathan Lloyd isn't shooting all that well but possesses 8/1 assist-to-turnover numbers.

The Ducks are out-boarding opponents 37-33 and it truly is a team effort in attacking the backboard, losing the turnover margin 36/44 but winning at shotblocks and steals with six a game.

The Spartan opponents on Saturday aren't big but they play tough. So who will defend best for the longest? The Ducks are shooting .435% overall while holding foes to 410% but underwater in distance shooting at 30% to 46%.

Also, who commits the fewest errors and turnovers?

* Oregon, Saturday, November 20, 2010, McArthur Court, Eugene, Ore., 2:00 p.m. (PST)

* Radio Coverage: KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) originates San Jose State University basketball broadcasts. Shawn Murphy calls the play-by-play of the Oregon contest. Air time is 1:30 p.m.

The Duck roster (by position and alphabetized)

Malcolm Armstead G 6-0 195 Jr (STARTER)
John Elorriaga G 6-2 205 Jr (walk-on)
Nicholas Fearn G 6-1 188 Jr. (walk-on)
Jonathan Lloyd G 5-8 160 Fr
Matt Losli G 6-4 185 So.
Nicholas Lucenti G 6-3 212 Fr
Garrett Sim G 6-1 181 Jr (STARTER)
Jay-R Strowbridge G 5-11 180 Sr
Teondre Willaims G 6-4 218 Jr (STARTER)

Joeven Catron F 6-6 245 Sr. (STARTER)
Jeremy Jacob F 6-8 226 Jr
Tyrone Nared F 6-8 210 Jr
E.J. Singler F 6-6 210 So (STARTER)

Martin Seiferth C 6-10 223 Fr