Men's Power Rankings: Miami (Ohio) debuts, Nebraska rises - ESPN

Before this season tipped off, it would have seemed equally unlikely that this late-January edition of Power Rankings would feature Nebraska in the top five or Miami (Ohio) at all. And yet, that's where things stand after two of the three remaining unbeatens survived another week without a loss. (Arizona is the third.)

Looking purely at efficiency-based metrics, which tend to be more predictive than résumé-based metrics, neither team fits the bill on paper. Nebraska entered Wednesday ranked No. 12 in KenPom and No. 19 in the ESPN's BPI, while Miami (Ohio) was No. 90 at KenPom and No. 89 in the BPI. But the actual results tell a different story.

Nebraska has one of the best résumés in the country. The Cornhuskers rank top five nationally in both strength of record and wins above bubble. They also possess fantastic top-line victories over Illinois and Michigan State, with the former coming on the road.

Miami (Ohio), meanwhile, entered Wednesday ranked No. 21 in strength of record and No. 28 in wins above bubble. We so often see how difficult it is for teams to win on the road in conference play, making the RedHawks' away victories at Kent State, Bowling Green and Toledo — three of their biggest competitors in the Mid-American — notable. They already beat MAC preseason favorite Akron and won at Horizon favorite Wright State in nonconference play, too.

With Arizona heading to BYU on Monday and Nebraska traveling to Michigan on Tuesday, there's a good chance Miami (Ohio) is the last remaining unbeaten.

Now let's see where both land in this week's top 25.

Previous ranking: 1

It's almost like Tommy Lloyd's team decides to feature a new top performer each week. This time, it was junior big man Motiejus Krivas. The Lithuania