Welcome back, students! I hope you all are ready for another semester of Sam’s Section, because we have a lot to cover in this week’s edition. Conference play in college basketball is well underway, while non-conference slates have concluded outside a select few games in February.
So, without further ado, here are the best from winter break in men’s college basketball.
National Player (ACC Player and freshman) of Winter Break: Cameron Boozer, forward, Duke (23.5 ppg, 10 rpg, 4.5 apg, 2 spg, 62.3 FG%, 38.5 3P%, 73 FT% in eight games)
A Duke freshman is running away with the National Player of the Year honor. Where have we heard that before? Boozer is outstanding and looks like the best player in the country in a season that freshmen have dominated. I mean, look at what Kansas’s Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Arkansas’s Darius Acuff Jr., North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson and Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie are doing. Boozer tops them all, and his best game over winter break was a 30-point, 14-rebound performance at Stanford over the weekend.
Team of Winter Break: Nebraska
Is it time to get on the hype train for Nebraska basketball? It might be, considering the Cornhuskers have the longest active winning streak in the country with 22 wins in a row. They are one of three unbeaten teams in college basketball right now (Arizona, Miami (Ohio)), and their schedule has not been easy. Over break, Nebraska defeated Michigan State, Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon and Northwestern. All those teams are in the top 100 on KenPom, and the wins over Ohio State, Indiana and Northwestern were on the road. Impressive.
Big Ten Player of Winter Break: Nick Martinelli, forward, Northwestern (27.3 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 53.7 FG%, 42.3 3P%, 78.7 FT% in seven games)
Record-wise, you may go elsewhere, but Martinelli is one of the nation’s best scorers and has carried Northwestern this season. Sure, he has not been a great defensive player, and his box plus/minus rating is –1 as of writing, but when you have led the nation in scoring for most of the season (currently Tarleton State’s Dior Johnson), you deserve to be mentioned in this article. He is the only reason Northwestern stays competitive in their games, regardless of the five-game losing streak. Just look at the insane effort at Rutgers, where he had 34 points and 12 rebounds on 11-of-22 shooting from the floor and made 10 of his 13 free throws.
Big 12 Player of Winter Break: Darryn Peterson, guard, Kansas (24.6 ppg, 5 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1 spg, 48.8 FG%, 39.5 3P%, 85.7 FT% in five games)
Peterson missed games due to an injury and has played with a minutes restriction, but he has proven that he can (and will) be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. When he does play, it is amazing to watch him. He is one of the elite scorers in college basketball this season, but it is all up to his health if he wants to remain at that level. His scoring looks effortless, just look at his 26-point performance against Baylor or his 32-point effort against TCU.
SEC Player of Winter Break: Labaron Philon, guard, Alabama (22.4 ppg, 4.1 apg, 3 rpg, 1.4 spg, 50.9 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 75 FT% in seven games)
The SEC is wide open. It is not as loaded as last season, but the SEC has many teams capable of going deep into the NCAA Tournament. For that to happen, they need big-time players to step up. Over winter break, Philon has done exactly that for Alabama. As of writing, Philon ranks tied for ninth in the country in scoring over the entire season and is one of the best passers in the SEC. Philon’s best game over winter break came last Tuesday at Mississippi State where he finished with 32 points, four rebounds and three assists on 10-of-14 shooting from the floor and 3-of-5 from deep. Not to mention, he was 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. He is elite.
Big games this week
No. 22 North Carolina at No. 14 Virginia (Saturday, 2 p.m., ESPN)
This is a massive game for North Carolina, who did not finish winter break well. Both teams match well, but the one surprise is Virginia’s offense. This is not the back end of the Tony Bennett era anymore when his teams were defensive-minded. This time, the Cavaliers rank in the top 20 (as of writing) in both offensive and defensive efficiency on KenPom. Assuming the Tar Heels win at home against Notre Dame on Wednesday night, North Carolina needs a win like this one to generate some momentum as we wrap up January very soon.
No. 11 Illinois at No. 4 Purdue (Saturday, 3 p.m., FOX)
Purdue boasts the best offense in the country, anchored by All-American point guard Braden Smith. However, Illinois ranks third in offense nationally, so expect two high-level offenses at Mackey Arena on Saturday afternoon. Sad news came on Tuesday for the Fighting Illini as star guard Kylan Boswell is out for a month with a hand injury. Time for his teammates to step up.
No. 6 Houston at No. 12 Texas Tech (Saturday, 6:30 p.m., ESPN)
There is no doubt that Houston is one of the best teams in the country. However, the Cougars’ only ranked wins are Arkansas and Texas Tech. It is hard to beat a team twice, but Houston can do exactly that if they can pull off a signature road win against Texas Tech. Houston has not lost since its lone loss in the Players Era Festival on Nov. 25 to Tennessee. Meanwhile, Texas Tech has shown vulnerability in its depth, but its starting lineup is one of the best in college basketball.