Get ready for a lot of Wisconsin athletics coverage this week. A quirky bowl game featuring one Big Ten and one ACC program could lift the UW football program above .500 to finish out 2020. Then on the court, two basketball contests will bring intrigue to our collective television sets (or streaming devices) in the always-competitive conference play.

BadgerBlitz.com brings back our 3-2-1 feature to discuss three things from this weekend, two questions for Wisconsin in facing Wake Forest and one prediction.

And yet, it's true.

Wisconsin asserted itself last week, going 2-0 in conference action that included an impressive win at No. 12 Michigan State on Christmas Day. However, only a trio of teams are undefeated as of Monday in Big Ten play, which includes the now-No. 6 Badgers, the No. 19 Northwestern Wildcats and No. 16 Michigan Wolverines.

Up next for UW, which is 8-1 overall and has won its last five games, is Maryland. The Terrapins sit at 5-3 and have dropped their first couple of conference tilts to the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers and Matt Painter's Purdue Boilermakers. However, they still rank No. 48 in KenPom and boast four players averaging double digits in scoring.

Minnesota (8-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten), which is ranked No. 42 in KenPom as of Monday morning, upset a top-five Iowa program on Christmas. Richard Pitino's team tallied up 102 points on the scoreboard in a seven-point home win. Marcus Carr and Brandon Johnson combined for 56 points -- the former also contributing eight assists -- in the victory over the Hawkeyes. Like the Badgers, the Gophers will play on Monday, hosting the Spartans inside Williams Arena.

Greg Gard's team will feel part of the grind of the conference season this week, playing three games in the next six days. After the new year it will travel to Happy Valley to take on Penn State for a Sunday matinee.