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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.

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.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A quick look at No. 5/6 North Carolina’s 82-63 victory over Texas at the Smith Center on Wednesday:

How it happened: A taller, more veteran North Carolina team led from the outset -- out-pacing, out-dunking and out-rebounding the Longhorns.

A 13-1 run put the Tar Heels ahead early 19-7. Texas cut into the lead with a 7-2 run of its own, but then UNC put on a sprint that had the home crowd screaming louder than it has been all season.

First, reserve guard P.J. Hairston took a pass from point guard Kendall Marshall, drove from the wing, and threw down a one-handed transition dunk that had Texas’ Julien Lewis on his back -- after he was whistled for the foul.

Hairston missed the free throw, but on UNC’s next possession, forward John Henson followed with a two-handed dunk. On the Heels' possession after that, reserve Reggie Bullock scored in transition -- on a ball batted to him by Henson. That gave UNC a 30-16 advantage.

UNC led 39-23 at halftime, and it was only more of the same after the break.

The highlight dunk of the second half came around the 12-minute mark, when UNC forward Tyler Zeller grabbed a steal and passed it to Bullock, who found forward Harrison Barnes in the lane. The sophomore promptly dunked it over 6-10 Texas senior Clint Chapman, and let out a roar.

Relief? Celebation? Maybe a bit of both. After all, the Tar Heels had lost four straight times in this series, including twice in the past two seasons, before Wednesday night.

Barnes, held to nine points each of his past two games, finished with a season-high 26 points and 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the season. Henson added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Texas point guard Myck Kabongo, averaging 10.8 points entering the game, finished with one point. Jonathan Holmes led the Longhorns, who shot only 34.8 percent, with 16 points.

Number to know: UNC has now won 24 straight games at the Smith Center. One more win would tie the school record, set from 1992-94.

Hubbub: What was with Texas coach Rick Barnes’ sling? In case you missed it, he had surgery on his right shoulder earlier this month to repair a rotator cuff injury.

UNC coach Roy Williams, who was in a sling a couple years back after left shoulder surgery himself, said earlier this week that he had advised Barnes to go ahead with the procedure, rather than put it off until after the season.

"You can still coach," Williams told reporters. "If I had waited until the end of the season, I wouldn't have been able to play golf. I'm not that dumb."

What’s next: UNC’s players planned to begin heading home for the holidays after the game Wednesday night. They will return to campus Monday, and play Elon next Thursday. Texas will play Rice on New Year’s Eve.

Follow Robbi Pickeral on Twitter at @bylinerp.

Texas coach Rick Barnes knew he'd landed one of the fastest recruits in the country when he signed Canadian point guard Myck Kabongo in the fall of 2010.

Occasionally, though, Kabongo seems almost too fast.

Multiple times this season, the 6-foot-1 freshman has sprinted up the court with the basketball and realized that none of his teammates were there with him. Instead of pulling back and waiting for them to catch up, Kabongo often tried to make things happen all by himself, which usually resulted in an ill-advised shot or a turnover.

"I needed to learn how to slow down and run my team," said Kabongo, chuckling during a phone interview with ESPN.com Tuesday night. "They need me to play great for us to be in games. I understand that now."

Apparently so.

Texas has won seven straight games -- all by double digits -- since a pair of early-season losses to Oregon State and North Carolina State. Kabongo is one of the main reasons. The Toronto native is averaging 12.8 points and 6.7 assists in his last six contests, which includes a season-high 18-point effort in Saturday's win over Temple.

Tonight Kabongo will face the toughest test of his career thus far when the Longhorns face No. 6 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. Texas has defeated the Tar Heels the last two seasons, but with a rotation that includes five freshmen and just three experienced players, Kabongo knows he'll have to be at his best if Texas has any hopes of a victory.

"I could try to tell you it's just another game, and it is," Kabongo said. "But at the same time, I'm excited for the opportunity for our team and our guys. It's a chance for us to get better. North Carolina has an NBA front court. It's a great chance for our freshmen to play against guys that are good so we can keep getting better and keep improving.

"I think my guys are ready for it."

That Kabongo refers his teammates as "my guys" says everything you need to know about the freshman's confidence. Junior J'Covan Brown is the Longhorns' top scorer, and Alexis Wangmene and Clint Chapman are seniors. Still, even when he struggled early, Kabongo said he always viewed this as "his" team. That type of mind set has been missing in the Longhorns' backcourt the past few seasons, which may be one of the reasons Texas hasn't advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament since 2008.

Kabongo is hopeful that will change this season. Texas lost big leads against Oregon State and North Carolina State in a pair of setbacks at the Legends Classic in New Jersey in mid-November. Frustrating as the losses were, Kabongo said they will benefit a young Texas team in the long run.

The Longhorns lost forward Tristan Thompson and guards Cory Joseph and Jordan Hamilton to the NBA draft, and under-appreciated forward Gary Johnson graduated.

"We're finishing games now," he said. "We know now that teams aren't going to quit playing at this level. In high school, if a team is down by 14 in the fourth quarter, they may just give up. But at this level teams are going to continue to push and push and push."

And when that happens, Kabongo must keep his poise. Barnes certainly wants Kabongo to use his speed to push the ball and beat opposing defenses down the court. But he said Kabongo needs to do a better job of "picking his spots."

Carelessness is a trait almost every freshman point must overcome before becoming a high-level player.

"At first, I was just so excited to be out there playing, that I was trying to make a lot of plays that weren't there," Kabongo said. "I was running the floor and no one was running with me. I have to pace myself so that my teammates are running with me when I'm running. I was pushing the fast break when it wasn't there.As the game slows down, I'm starting to realize when I can go and when I can't."

Statisticians track Kabongo's turnovers during games -- but Barnes began doing it in practice just so Kabongo could see how much his miscues were affecting the team.

"That one possession where you don't execute could come back to haunt you at the end of the game," Kabongo said. "I understand I can't make a lot of poor decisions for us to win."

Especially against the Tar Heels.