The Big 12 is up 4-0 on the Pac-10 in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series and there is potential for a 1984 Reagan/Mondale-like landslide here.

USC has already taken two of the losses for the league, one by two points at home to Nebraska, the other by 19 in a more excusable loss to Texas. Baylor and Texas Tech pulled off the surprise wins Thursday with the Bears winning by three at Arizona State and the Red Raiders stunning No. 10 Washington in overtime in Lubbock.

So where do the Pac-10's hopes lie in avoiding a 12-0 sweep?

On Friday night, Oregon State hosts Colorado. The Buffaloes have been playing well by putting five scorers on the floor. The Beavers found themselves defensively in a road win at George Washington after an embarrassing home loss to Sacramento State last week. If seeds hold in this game, the Beavers should hold serve here and win the first game for the Pac-10. If OSU has any visions of getting back in the mix for a possible NCAA berth, it has to beat Colorado. The pressure is on the Beavers to win Friday.

Iowa State can beat California. The talent is in place to upset the Bears and both teams are beat up a bit. But Cal desperately needs this game to avoid a real slide after losing at upstart New Mexico. Cal should win this game Saturday to give the Pac-10 two wins in the challenge.

Oregon-Missouri and Washington State-Kansas State are two toss-ups with the edge likely going to the home team. But both road teams are fully capable of winning in what are probably two of the more evenly matched games in this challenge Saturday.

As much as I’d like to see UCLA be relevant again and pull off a major upset and beat Kansas on Sunday, the odds are highly against it with the recent departure of the Bruins’ big man Drew Gordon (even with the addition of Tyler Honeycutt). Arizona lost in overtime to UNLV, but Oklahoma seems to have righted itself after getting lost in Alaska.

So, if you’re keeping score that would tilt toward Big 12 with six wins, Pac-10 with two wins and two games undecided (Oregon-Mizzou and Wazzu-K-State) heading into the final two games in the challenge: Oklahoma State at Stanford, Dec. 16 and Texas A&M at Washington, Dec. 22.

The Cowboys are more talented, but it is still a true road game for them. And the Aggies may be tougher than the Huskies, but might not be able to score as easily. Let’s just say there is a split here. If that’s the case, then the Big 12 would have seven wins, pending the two too-close-to-call games while the Pac-10 would have three. Stop right there. That might be the number of NCAA bids the Big 12 receives. The Pac-10 would probably gladly take three bids if Selection Sunday were today. The scary part for the league is that it might only get two.