Men’s college basketball Power Rankings: The top 5 gets a big

We warned everyone last week that major changes to the top of the Power Rankings could be on the horizon, with four of the top five playing road games against other ranked teams between editions.

Well, all four of those teams lost: UConn to St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Friday; Duke at the buzzer to North Carolina on Saturday; Illinois in overtime to Michigan State on Sunday; and Arizona, for the first time this season, at Kansas on Monday.

The carnage extended down the rankings more than expected, with Illinois dropping another game Tuesday against Wisconsin; Iowa State losing at TCU; and Nebraska dropping one at home to Purdue.

When the dust settled, the top seven teams in last week’s Power Rankings went 8-7 in the span of seven days, with Michigan accounting for three of those wins.

So, how seismic were the resulting shifts at the top of the rankings?

Well … not that seismic.

The top four teams are still the top four teams — just in a different order. Houston takes over the fifth spot. We did opt for Michigan in the top spot, overtaking Arizona. The Wolverines have the edge in six of seven teamsheet metrics, and though Arizona has better wins overall, the Wildcats haven’t beaten a team in this week’s Power Rankings since Dec. 13.

Previous ranking: 3

Michigan was pushed in Wednesday’s trip to Northwestern as it had been very few times this season. The Wolverines trailed by 16 points with less than 15 minutes before turning the game completely on its head to win by 12. Over the final 14:05, they outscored Northwestern 45-17, going 14-for-18 from the field while holding the Wildcats to 5-for-25 shooting, including 1-for-13 from 3. The surprise star performer was backup point guard L.J. Cason, who took over for Elliot Cadeau early in the second half and never left the court again. He finished with 18 points and three assists,…