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Ivan Maisel and Gene Wojciechowski debate whether the bowls or a playoff system is the way to go.

Editor’s note: Jay Bilas breaks down Missouri-Kansas in today’s Weekend Watch. Andy Katz offers a dozen more games to keep an eye on this weekend.

Friday

Marquette at West Virginia (9 p.m. ET, ESPN): West Virginia has to win this game, right? The Mountaineers have lost six of their past eight games. The only wins were over lower-level teams (Providence and Pitt) on the road. Marquette has been on a tear of late and may have the Big East Player of the Year in Jae Crowder or Darius Johnson-Odom.

Saturday

Vanderbilt at Kentucky (noon ET, CBS): Kentucky has three games left to finish off an undefeated SEC regular season. No offense to Georgia, but the Cats should take care of the Bulldogs. If Kentucky takes out Vandy, the only obstacle left is a game at Florida to end the regular season. If Kentucky can accomplish an unblemished mark, it would go down as one of the most impressive regular seasons in coach John Calipari’s career.

Iowa State at Kansas State (1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN3): Wins at Baylor and Missouri have changed the complexion of Kansas State’s season. The Wildcats have finally finished games by playing smart in the final possessions. Iowa State has a tough slate to finish the season with games at Kansas State and Missouri and then hosting Baylor. Not an easy road for a bubble team.

North Carolina at Virginia (4 p.m. ET, ESPN): UVa has had injury issues and hasn’t been able to find consistency against the league’s elite (Duke and North Carolina). But the Cavs have a shot to re-establish themselves. This could turn into an ACC Player of the Year-type game as Tyler Zeller of the Tar Heels matches up with Mike Scott of the Cavs. UVa must ensure that it controls the tempo to have a chance.

Mississippi State at Alabama (6 p.m. ET, ESPN): Mississippi State has stumbled down the stretch and has no momentum going into the SEC tournament. The Bulldogs have lost to the bottom of the SEC and now to Kentucky at the top. Meanwhile, Alabama has done a tremendous job, despite player suspensions, to be in the hunt for an NCAA tournament berth. The win at Arkansas was one of the more impressive for the Tide this season.

George Mason at VCU (6 p.m. ET, ESPN2): George Mason was going to be in position to possibly catch Drexel and win the conference. But an overtime loss at Northeastern has pushed the Patriots into a second-place tie with VCU. The winner will get the No. 2 seed in the CAA tournament and potentially set up for a final matchup against Drexel.

Temple at Saint Joseph’s (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU): Temple has emerged as the class of the A-10. Saint Joe’s had some fleeting hopes of getting a bid, but the Hawks lost at home to Richmond and scored only 49 points in the process. This is a huge rivalry game but the toughness of the Owls should prevail.

Penn at Harvard (7 p.m. ET, ESPN3): If Harvard gets by Princeton on Friday night, a win against Penn could give the Crimson a share of the Ivy League title and a chance to clinch it outright the following Friday at Columbia. Harvard is trying to get to the NCAAs for the first time since 1946.

Syracuse at Connecticut (9 p.m. ET, ESPN): The Huskies have new life after Shabazz Napier’s 3-point heave went in to beat Villanova on Monday night. The Orange have been as good, if not better, on the road than at home -- other than at Notre Dame. Syracuse should dominate the bench scoring. The Huskies have a chance if Andre Drummond and Alex Oriakhi can win the post, and Napier and Ryan Boatright can get into the zone with floaters to score. UConn is in desperate mode to get this win.

Sunday

Wisconsin at Ohio State (4 p.m. ET, CBS): The Badgers lost at Iowa on Thursday night and now have to go to Ohio State? Yikes. Iowa let Wisconsin back in the game, but then the Badgers couldn’t finish and lost by one. OSU, save the game against Michigan State, has been as dominant at home as any team in the country. The Badgers have to find a way to score and avoid the droughts that can decimate their chances of pulling off an upset like this one.

California at Colorado (5:30 p.m. ET, FSN): Colorado had a chance to make some noise down the stretch in the Pac-12, but losing at home to Stanford took some of the energy out of this game. The Buffaloes had overachieved to that point. Cal needs to get a sweep of the mountain area to win the Pac-12 regular-season title, assuming Washington doesn’t stumble.

Florida State at Miami (6 p.m. ET, ESPNU): The Seminoles lost their shot to win the ACC regular-season title by dropping a home game to Duke. Miami desperately needs this game to prove to the selection committee that it is tourney-worthy. This game will have ACC tournament seeding implications.

With one month remaining in the regular season, the battle for the Wooden Award appears to be a two-man race between Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Kansas’ Thomas Robinson. Right now I’m leaning toward Davis, the projected No. 1 pick in this summer’s NBA draft. But you could definitely make an argument for Robinson, too. There are still plenty of opportunities for each to impress -- or regress. Here’s how I’d vote if the season ended today.

1. Anthony Davis, Kentucky - The 6-foot-10 Davis averaged 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 blocks in the Wildcats’ most recent victories over South Carolina and Florida. He shot a collective 17-of-23 from the field in those two games. Davis’ presence alone affects the game on the defensive end.
2. Thomas Robinson, Kansas - Robinson had 20 points and 17 rebounds in a victory over Oklahoma before erupting for 25 and 13 in Saturday’s 74-71 loss at Missouri. When he’s playing his best, Robinson might be the toughest player in the country to stop in the paint. He’ll be tested Wednesday by Baylor’s Quincy Acy and Perry Jones III.
3. Kevin Jones, West Virginia - The senior forward continues to post gaudy stats - he’s scored 20 or more points in nine consecutive games - but his team is struggling. The Mountaineers have lost three of their past four contests, with the only victory coming in overtime against Big East bottom-feeder Providence. Impossible as it might seem, West Virginia may need Jones to do even more.
4. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State - The versatile Buckeyes forward averaged 21 points and 8 rebounds in victories over Wisconsin and Purdue. College basketball fans - and Wooden Award voters - have grown used to seeing Sullinger post impressive stat lines. It’d be a shame if they started taking him for granted.
5. Doug McDermott, Creighton - The Bluejays sophomore has averaged 21.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in the three games since the last Wooden Award ballot was released. Creighton, though, lost back-to-back contests at Northern Iowa and Evansville during that span. The setbacks certainly aren’t McDermott’s fault — but it’s definitely on him to make sure they don’t become a trend. Saturday’s home game against Wichita State is huge.

On the cusp:

Perry Jones III, Baylor - Jones has scored 15 or more points in each of his past four games, but he’ll need to be more assertive than ever if the Bears have any hope of defeating Kansas in Waco, Texas, on Wednesday.

A scan of the college basketball box scores each night guarantees all kinds of statistical oddities and standout performances. Here are some we found from Tuesday:

Kansas State 65, Texas Tech 46
The two teams combined for 26 made field goals, matching the fewest in a Division I game this season (Cal Poly and USC combined for 26 in a 42-36 Cal Poly win Nov. 19). Texas Tech and Kansas State also combined for 53 fouls Tuesday. It’s the first time this year two teams combined for at least twice as many fouls as field goals. The differential of 27 more fouls than field goals is three more than in any other game this season.

Coaches and teammates have spent all season heaping praise upon Kansas forward Thomas Robinson. Now some opposing players are getting into the act, too.

Shortly after Robinson scored 27 points and snared 14 rebounds in Monday’s 92-74 victory over Baylor, Bears forward Perry Jones III was asked about his counterpart in the paint.

“He’s an All-American,” Jones said. “He played like he’s supposed to play, like an upperclassman. He delivered for his team.”

With a slew of NBA scouts watching from the sideline, Robinson connected on 11 of his 18 field-goal attempts against Baylor’s vaunted front-court and helped hold the Bears in check defensively.

Now averaging 17.8 points and 12.3 rebounds, Robinson gets the easy nod for the No. 1 spot on my Wooden Award ballot this week. Here’s how’d I’d vote if the season ended today.

1. Thomas Robinson, Kansas — Robinson is the main reason Kansas is the only Big 12 team that has yet to lose a conference game. He’s shooting 54.4 percent from the field and has recorded double-doubles in four of his last five contests.
2. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State — Sullinger helped the Buckeyes avenge last month’s loss to Indiana by scoring 16 points and grabbing nine rebounds in Sunday’s rematch with the Hoosiers. He’s averaging 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds on the season.
3. Kevin Jones, West Virginia — Jones recorded his seventh double-double in nine games in a 24-point, 14-rebound effort against Rutgers Saturday. How anyone can look at his numbers against quality competition and leave him off their ballot is beyond me. I almost bumped him up to No. 2. Jones averages 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds.
4. Anthony Davis, Kentucky — The 6-foot-10 freshman continues to improve. He averaged 16 points and seven rebounds in narrow victories over Auburn and Tennessee last week and is a game or two away from breaking the Wildcats’ single-season record for blocks. Davis is swatting an average of 4.6 shots per contest.
5. Doug McDermott, Creighton — The sophomore averaged 22.5 points and 10 rebounds in wins over Illinois State and Southern Illinois. The most impressive thing about McDermott is his shooting percentage from the field (62.1) and 3-point range (53.2)

On the cusp (listed alphabetically)

Will Barton, Memphis — The Tigers have won their last six games thanks to Barton, who leads Memphis in points (18.2) and rebounds (9.0)

Marcus Denmon, Missouri — The senior will take a team-high 17.8-point scoring average into Saturday’s showdown against Baylor in Waco.

Draymond Green, Michigan State — With 14 points and 14 rebounds, the senior was one of the Spartans’ few bright spots in Saturday’s loss to Northwester.

Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette — One of the country’s most-underrated players is averaging 19 points in the Golden Eagles’ last three wins.

Perry Jones III, Baylor — The ultra-talented Jones is becoming more and more assertive in the paint. Jones had 18 points and two blocks in Monday’s loss at Kansas.

Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut — The sophomore guard was cold in Saturday’s win over Notre Dame but still managed seven assists.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky — The most versatile player for a Kentucky squad that still has an incredibly-high ceiling.

Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi State — With averages of 16.5 points and 10.9 boards, the UTEP transfer should be in the SEC Player of the year conversation.

Mike Scott, Virginia — Averages 16.9 points for a team that scores just 65 points a game; shoots 58.8 percent from the field.

Tyler Zeller, UNC — Potential lottery pick averages 14.4 points and 9.2 rebounds; one of the few Tar Heels who didn’t fold in Saturday’s debacle at Florida State.

On Monday the five finalists invited to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony were revealed. This year has featured one of the most interesting races for the Heisman as no one player has stood from the rest.

Here's a look at what a Heisman Trophy win -- or loss -- would mean to these players and their respective schools.

Trent Richardson, Alabama
Two seasons ago Trent Richardson was a part of a National Championship team with a Heisman Trophy winner, when running back Mark Ingram became Alabama's first winner. Richardson has nearly identical numbers to Ingram this season, and has already totaled 23 touchdowns compared to Ingram's 20 TD's.

If Richardson were to win the award it would put him and Ingram in some rare company. In the history of the Heisman Trophy only three times have two different players playing the same position at the same school won the award in a span of three seasons. It last happened when USC QB Matt Leinart won it in 2004 after Carson Palmer had taken home the award in 2002.

Andrew Luck, Stanford
Luck is listed second here as he finished second for the Heisman last season and Stanford has actually had the Heisman runner-up in each of the past two seasons (Toby Gerhart, 2009).

If Luck wins he would be the second player in Stanford history to win the award (Jim Plunkett, 1970) and join 1981 Herschel Walker as the only Heisman runner-ups to win the award the next season.

If Luck finishes second, Stanford would set a record. No school has ever had a Heisman runner-up in three consecutive seasons.

Montee Ball, Wisconsin
Montee Ball earned his invite thanks to his impressive numbers. Ball needs one touchdown in the Rose Bowl to tie Barry Sanders' FBS record for touchdowns in a season (39). Sanders won the Heimsan trophy during that 1988 season.

Ball's 38 touchdowns are the most by a Big Ten player since Eddie George had 25 in his Heisman Trophy winning 1995 season.

Robert Griffin III, Baylor
RGIII finished off a great regular season in which he threw 36 touchdowns compared to only six interceptions, while also leading Baylor to nine wins, its most since the 1986 season.

Griffin's invite is an accomplishment in its own considering he plays for Baylor. The Bears have only had one player finish in the top five of the Heisman vote in school history. In 1963 Don Trull finished fourth.

If Baylor's Robert Griffin III wins the Heisman Trophy this year, he will be just the third player since the BCS was established in 1998 to win the Heisman without his team playing in a BCS bowl game.

Tyrann Mathieu, LSU
The Honey Badger will take the trip to New York looking to join Charles Woodson as the only defensive backs to win the Heisman trophy.

Despite being a defensive player, recent history is on Mathieu's side to take home the award. Since 2003, seven of the past eight Heisman Trophy winners have come from the team at number one in the BCS standings entering the National Championship Game.

Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5) vs. Oklahoma Sooners (9-3)

Dec. 30, 1o p.m. ET (ESPN)

Iowa take by Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg: Iowa football hasn’t had much go its way in the past 11 months aside from a dramatic victory against Missouri in the 2010 Insight Bowl. The Hawkeyes will return to Tempe, Ariz., later this month looking for another boost after an up-and-down 2011 campaign.

Kirk Ferentz’s teams typically save their best for the postseason, as Iowa is 6-3 in bowls during his tenure as coach, including victories in each of the past three years (2010 Insight, 2010 Orange, 2009 Outback). But extending the win streak will be tough against Oklahoma, the preseason No. 1 team. Both teams struggled down the stretch, each dropping two of the final three games.

Iowa is led by its big three on offense: receiver Marvin McNutt, running back Marcus Coker and quarterback James Vandenberg. Coker burst on the scene as a freshman at the 2010 Insight Bowl, setting an Iowa bowl record with 219 rushing yards. McNutt also has been fabulous, while Vandenberg struggled away from Kinnick Stadium but can put up big numbers.

The Hawkeyes' defense was in rebuilding mode for most of the season, as the NFL losses along the defensive line and at safety stung. Oklahoma isn’t nearly as dangerous on offense without star receiver Ryan Broyles, who is out for the season with a knee injury. But Iowa can’t let Landry Jones settle into a rhythm and must pressure the Sooners junior quarterback.

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops faces his alma mater in Iowa, which goes up against the Sooners for just the second time after dropping a 1979 game in Norman.

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Oklahoma State take from Big 12 blogger David Ubben: The "Chase For Eight" quickly went awry for the Sooners, who lost a 41-38 game at home to five-win Texas Tech. The Red Raiders didn't win again the rest of the season. The Sooners' defense fell to powerful offenses late in the season, too. Baylor bested the Sooners on a last-second touchdown from Robert Griffin III, and Oklahoma State receivers ran free in a Cowboys blowout.

Injuries played a huge role. That's undeniable, but this season, with the expectations that came with it, is nothing but a disappointment. The Sooners suffered two losses after losing Broyles and Dominique Whaley. Blake Bell's Tebow-esque "BellDozer" formation was pretty effective late in the season, but Oklahoma is bested only by Texas A&M as the Big 12's most disappointing team.

Texas A&M (6-6) vs. Northwestern (6-6)

Dec. 31, noon ET (ESPN)

Texas A&M take from Big 12 blogger David Ubben: The Aggies are in a state of turmoil. They have no coach and the players are understandably shaken up about it. Mike Sherman was loved around College Station, and his super classy exit press conference showed all the reasons why. Ultimately, Texas A&M's much-ballyhooed second-half failures ended Sherman's tenure as the head Aggie. The numbers are well-known by now, but still staggering. They tell the story of how a preseason top 10 team with as much talent as any in the Big 12 ends up at 6-6. Five halftime leads of double digits and another by nine against rival Texas. All were losses.

That doesn't change the talent on the field. Running back Cyrus Gray will likely return from injury, as will quarterback Ryan Tannehill with top targets Ryan Swope and Jeff Fuller. They'll play with an offensive line that has some legit NFL talent, a credit to Sherman's recruiting acumen as a coach with an offensive line background. Texas A&M is already assured of leaving the Big 12 with a bitter taste en route to the SEC next season, but a bowl win might help ... if only a little bit.

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Northwestern take from Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg: Northwestern will play in a bowl for a team-record fourth consecutive year, but the Wildcats are still looking for that elusive postseason win after a disappointing 2011 campaign.

As players and coaches often are reminded, Northwestern hasn’t won a bowl game since the 1949 Rose. The Wildcats have come close the past three seasons, particularly in the 2010 Outback Bowl, but they’ve fallen short each time. While Texas A&M’s motivation might be a question mark after its recent coaching change, Northwestern will be geared up.

The good news is that unlike last year, Northwestern will have top quarterback Dan Persa on the field for its bowl. Although Persa didn’t look nearly as dominant this season as he did in 2010, he still led the Big Ten in passing (240.3 ypg) and completed 74.2 percent of his passes with 17 touchdown strikes and seven interceptions. Persa and the offense will need to put up points as Northwestern’s defense has struggled mightily this season and in the recent bowl losses. The Wildcats will be without top cornerback Jordan Mabin against Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill and his talented group of receivers.

This will be a virtual road game for Northwestern in Houston, as Texas A&M fans will pack Reliant Stadium. But Pat Fitzgerald’s teams often play better on the road than at home, as they are 14-8 on the road since the start of the 2008 season.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- A few quick notes on Baylor's 69-41 win over Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday:

Overview: This game was billed as a clash of styles and systems. Northwestern has its hot outside shooting and tricky Princeton sets; Baylor has its hyper-athletic high-risers and attacking offensive style. By halftime, with Baylor leading 38-21 and all of Welsh-Ryan Arena's energy drained, the talk of a stylistic clash had faded. What was left was the obvious truth: Baylor was just far too talented to lose to the Wildcats on this or any other day. NU desperately needed to make 3s to keep pace with the Bears, but Baylor's length allowed it to challenge even the most open of Wildcats' shooters.

Northwestern never made a second-half surge, never found a spark, never gave its fans something to stick around for after the halftime entertainment -- dogs chasing frisbees, by the way -- gave way to more Baylor buckets. In its first true nonconference road game in nearly two years, Scott Drew's team cruised.

Stat of the game: Well, 14-57 from the field, 4-25 from 3. Yeah: That's what the Wildcats shot Sunday. If Northwestern wanted to take down the No. 8-ranked team in the nation -- a team with superior size, speed, strength, athleticism and at least two likely lottery picks in its starting five -- the Cats absolutely had to make open shots. The prospects looked good. Northwestern entered the game with an average effective field goal percentage of 55.9, the 17th-best mark in the country. So much for prospects. This is hardly the most incisive statistical analysis, but it doesn't have to be: Northwestern missed way, way, way too many open shots to keep this game competitive.

Star of the game: Individual honors feel beside the point for Baylor; the win was so dominant that no one star player ever needed to stand out from the ensemble cast around him. That said, guard Pierre Jackson and forward Quincy Acy both posted notably efficient days, Jackson with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Acy with 16 points on 8-of-10 from the field. Jackson was able to get to the rim with ease against Northwestern's slower guards, and the Wildcats had no answer for Acy's presence around the rim. Meanwhile, the return of forward Perry Jones III continues to come along, even if Jones has yet to dominate in proportion to his talent. (He finished with 12 points on 5-of-8 from the field.)

What it means: Baylor can claim a solid nonconference win, and in a true road game no less. Northwestern can write it off as a particularly cold shooting day at a particularly poor time. Other than that, one imagines neither team will spend much time on the film here. The Wildcats aren't going to play a team as athletic as Baylor until (maybe) Ohio State in Big Ten play, and Baylor won't play a team with Northwestern's unique stylistic characteristics again this season. Still, Baylor's early nonconference tournament resume will get a nice little boost.

What's next: Both teams get a bit of a break. Baylor is off until a cupcake vs. Bethune-Cookman on Dec. 14, while Northwestern's next game a Dec. 15 tilt with Texas Southern. Baylor's next big test will come a few days after the Cookman fixture, when the Bears travel to BYU for another potentially revealing nonconference road test.