The midpoint of the college basketball season almost always reveals what fans expected, what they didn’t, and the rare players who can tilt the sport by sheer talent. This year brings all of that.
A blend of veterans and emerging stars has driven the conversation from opening tip into conference play, shaping rankings and carrying teams through the tight games that define February. They already look like the names set to anchor the storylines of March.
Their performances aren’t isolated moments. They reflect a changing sport, one shaped by experience, player development, and the ability of the right transfer to reshape a program overnight.
JT Toppin: The High-Motor Force Driving Texas Tech’s Surge
Few players in recent memory have controlled the rhythm of a season the way JT Toppin has for Texas Tech. His presence is loud, sometimes literally, the way he crashes the glass and it’s steady.
Every possession feels tethered to his energy. Toppin stacks double-doubles in a way that no longer feels like news, which is a sign of dominance more than anything else.
His efficiency inside anchors the Red Raiders, yet it’s his relentlessness that defines him. Coaches preparing for Texas Tech often start with one question: How do we keep Toppin off the boards? Most don’t find a real answer.
JT Toppin earned Big 12 Player of the Year honors in 2025, his first season with Texas Tech, along with Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. He now ranks on the Wooden Award midseason Top 25 watchlist, positioning him as a national contender due to his dominant play.
Braden Smith: Purdue’s Veteran Playmaker Steering the Big Ten
Certain guards make the game look slower than it actually is. Braden Smith is one of them. Purdue’s offense flows through his hands, and the ball rarely lingers longer than necessary. His timing borders on intuitive. Smith commands tempo in a way that frustrates opponents trying to disrupt rhythm and exposes those who gamble for steals.
His assist numbers stack up toward history, and there’s a calmness in his play that teams with younger rosters often envy. Purdue has leaned into that stability, trusting Smith to orchestrate not only possessions. but late-game situations that usually decide conference titles.
If the Big Ten feels tight this season, he’s one of the reasons why. When he’s controlling things, Purdue remains one of the toughest outs in college basketball.
Yaxel Lendeborg: The Transfer Transforming Michigan’s Identity
Michigan needed a catalyst after a stretch of uneven seasons, and Yaxel Lendeborg delivered exactly that. His arrival didn’t just bring production; it brought identity. He scores, rebounds, facilitates, and defends, rarely leaning on one skill when he can contribute in four different ways. That kind of versatility changes a roster’s chemistry almost overnight.
As fans keep track of Michigan’s evolving schedule and the broader NCAAB landscape through platforms such as FanDuel Sportsbook, Lendeborg’s impact stands out in nearly every matchup preview. His fingerprints are everywhere.
Dusty May built a fluid system, but it’s Lendeborg who turns it into something sustainable. When Michigan strings together momentum, he’s almost always in the middle of it.
His role also speaks to a bigger truth about the modern sport: an elite, well-fitted transfer can reshape a team faster than any recruiting class.
Breakout Performers Elevating Their Teams in Unexpected Ways
Every season features a few players who step past expectations and alter the competitive landscape. This year, several have moved into that territory, and their teams feel different because of it.
Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Bidunga’s emergence inside gives Kansas a level of athletic interior presence they haven’t consistently had since Udoka Azubuike patrolled the paint. His near 65% shooting speaks for itself, but it’s the defensive influence, timely blocks, altered drives, physicality without unnecessary fouls, that signal a real leap. Kansas feeds off his energy, especially in games that hinge on toughness around the rim.
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
There’s something almost understated about Martinelli’s production, which feels right given his reputation. Even as Northwestern’s returning leading scorer, Nick Martinelli remains somewhat overlooked nationally. His efficiency and shot creation keep the Wildcats competitive in stretches where the offense otherwise stalls.
For readers tracking performances like these and how they influence rankings and matchups week to week, resources that offer the latest NCAAB news and trends help fans and bettors keep the bigger picture in view.
How These Standouts Are Reshaping the Competitive Landscape
Several trends emerge when looking at this season’s defining players. Veteran leadership has spiked in value, partly because the last of the “extra eligibility” era is fading, creating a premium on stability. Guards like Smith and wings like Martinelli represent something coaches can’t manufacture: lived experience and poise.
Transfers matter more as well. Lendeborg shows how a statistically complete forward can elevate an entire roster, not through isolation dominance but through balance.
Meanwhile, players like Bidunga highlight the payoff of patient development, a reminder that some of the sport’s most impactful contributors grow behind the scenes before taking center stage.
When comparing today’s emerging stars with all-time legends, pieces such as SportsUnfold’s breakdown of historic college basketball greats can add another layer of appreciation for this talent.
How Midseason Play Sets the Stage
Midseason often becomes the stretch where reputations solidify and postseason paths begin to take shape. Players vying for National Player of the Year honors need consistency more than highlight moments, and the same goes for teams pushing for top-tier seeding.
A strong January shapes February confidence. It builds résumés. It creates the kind of rhythm teams usually carry into March. Toppin’s power, Smith’s precision, Lendeborg’s versatility, these qualities don’t just define games; they define months.
Even so, the road ahead remains long enough for shifts. That uncertainty is part of the appeal. Fans know that the season’s next chapter depends on how these standouts handle the weight of expectation now resting fully on their shoulders.
The Emerging Picture of a Season Still Unfolding
As the season leans into its final stretch, each of these players stands at the center of unfolding storylines. Toppin’s push for national honors, Smith’s pursuit of history, and Lendeborg’s attempt to bring Michigan back into the national spotlight each hold implications for conference races and the tournament picture. The players shaping midseason narratives often end up shaping March as well. This year appears no different. The only question left is which of them will rise even higher when the games matter most.