There are three interesting developments with this week’s college hockey rankings and the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index, which will be used to determine teams and seeding for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
First, a sort of balance has been achieved between the Eastern and Western-based schools, at least in terms of overall numbers. There are nine Eastern teams ranked in the polls, compared to 11 Western schools, and it’s even if you count Penn State in the East (the Big Ten is considered a Western conference, thus the distinction). Granted, the top four are all in the West, but while Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth have dropped off some, Providence, Cornell and even Boston College have stepped up and all look like strong tournament contenders.
Second, the polls and the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index almost mirror each other. This is pretty normal, especially when factoring the annual late start by the Ivy League, but nine of the top 10 teams are the same. Why is the top 10 important? Because with six conferences getting automatic bids off their postseason tournaments, only the top 10 are essentially guaranteed spots spots in the 16-team NCAA tournament.
More on that when we do this week’s bracketology. Here’s the top 10 in NPI through the weekend, and before Monday’s Beampot games in Boston:
National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index
1. Michigan
2. Michigan State
3. North Dakota
4. Penn State
5. Western Michigan
6. Providence
7. Cornell
8. Minnesota Duluth
9. Quinnipiac
10. Dartmouth
Finally, both the polls and NPI confirm what we’ve expected for months, that this week’s two games between Michigan and Michigan State will be a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup, with the opener in Ann Arbor, and the finale at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. At stake could be the top ranking in both, the Big Ten regular-season title, top seeding in the Big Ten tournament, and maybe even the the No. 1-overall slot in the NCAA Tournament brackets.
Now that’s a big series.
It’s the first 1 vs. 2 meeting of the season on the men’s side. When they split two games in early December, Michigan was No. 1, but Michigan State was No. 3 in the polls. In October, Boston University was No. 1 when it played No. 3 Michigan State, and Michigan was No. 3 when it split with No. 2 Western Michigan.
Made biggest jump: Denver, from No. 11 to No. 8. Voters obviously took the sweep over UMD as a sign that the Pioneers are back on track. It otherwise had a shaky January (albeit against tough competition) managing just a tie against Maine, was swept by Western Michigan, and split against North Dakota and St. Cloud State.
Had biggest fall: Wisconsin’s free-fall continued after getting swept by Minnesota, dropping this week from No. 8 to No. 13. At this point, the Badgers are barely in the NCAA Tournament, but fans have to be getting extremely nervous in Madison.
Most underrated ranked team per NPI: Dartmouth. The voters have the Big Green at No. 14, but NPI lists it at No. 10 despite being 54th in strength of schedule. Remember, there’s only 63 teams in Division I, and three of Dartmouth’s final seven games are against teams listed at 54, 56 and 57.
Most overrated ranked team per NPI: Quinnipiac and Maine, both four spots. The Bobcats actually rose a spot after tying Clarkson, but it was more a reflection of the teams around it having a rough weekend (Penn State, UMD and Wisconsin). The Black Bears are actually getting close to lining up between the polls and and NPI, as they’re voted No. 18 and are listed at No. 22. The next three games are make-or-break: at Boston University, and a home series against Connecticut.
USCHO Men’s Poll
February 2, 2026
Rank
Team
Record
Points (1st)
Prv.
1
Michigan
22-4
998 (48)
1
2
Michigan State
21-5
951 (2)
2
3
North Dakota
20-6
879
4
4
Western Michigan
19-7
845
3
5
Quinnipiac
20-5-3
738
6
6
Penn State
18-8
732
5
7
Providence
16-7-2
706
9
8
Denver
16-11-2
612
11
9
Cornell
16-5
608
10
10
Minnesota Duluth
17-11
584
7
11
Boston College
14-8-1
442
13
12
Connecticut
15-7-3
437
12
13
Wisconsin
15-9-2
436
8
14
Dartmouth
16-6-1
389
14
15
St. Thomas
17-8-3
286
15
16
Augustana
18-7-3
261
16
17
Minnesota State
15-8-5
154
18
18
Maine
14-10-2
126
17
19
Massachusetts
16-10
96
NR
20
Michigan Tech
18-10-2
76
19
Others receiving votes: Miami 50, Harvard 45, Bentley 16, Boston University 15, Bowling Green 9, Northeastern 4, Union 3, Colorado College 1, RIT 1
USA Hockey Men’s Poll
February 2, 2026
Rank
Team
Points (1st)
Prv.
1
Michigan
680 (34)
1
2
Michigan State
636
2
3
North Dakota
596
4
4
Western Michigan
575
3
5
Quinnipiac
501
6
6
Penn State
485
5
7
Providence
484
9
8
Cornell
440
10
9
Denver
416
11
10
Minnesota Duluth
409
8
11
Wisconsin
308
7
12
Connecticut
288
12
13
Boston College
284
14
14
Dartmouth
270
13
15
St. Thomas
185
15
16
Augustana
175
16
17
Minnesota State
112
18
18
Maine
79
17
19
Massachusetts
69
NR
20
Michigan Tech
48
20
Others Receiving Votes: Harvard, 37; Miami, 36; Northeastern, 6; Boston University, 4; Bowling Green, 4; Bentley, 3; RIT, 2.
USCHO Women’s Poll
February 2, 2026
Rank
Team
Record
Points (1st)
Prv.
1
Wisconsin
24-2-2
299 (19)
1
2
Ohio State
25-3
281 (1)
2
3
Minnesota
23-5
260
3
4
Penn State
26-4
240
4
5
Northeastern
21-6-1
210
6
6
Connecticut
19-7-2
184
7
7
Princeton
19-6-0
181
8
8
Quinnipiac
21-7-2
176
5
9
Yale
19-7
137
10
10
Minnesota Duluth
13-12-3
111
9
11
Clarkson
19-8-3
107
11
12
Cornell
14-10-2
82
12
13
Holy Cross
18-8-2
47
13
14
Mercyhurst
20-10-2
37
15
15
Minnesota State
12-14-2
22
14
Others receiving votes: Colgate 21, St. Cloud State 3, St. Thomas 2
USA Hockey Women’s Poll
January 27, 2026 (Will be updated with new poll on Tuesday)
Rank
Team
Points (1st)
Prv.
1
Wisconsin
285 (19)
1
2
Ohio State
264
2
3
Minnesota
249
3
4
Penn State
226
4
5
Quinnipiac
199
6
6
Northeastern
189
8
7
Connecticut
165
5
8
Princeton
149
7
9
Minnesota Duluth
137
9
10
Yale
116
10
11
Clarkson
93
12
12
Cornell
83
11
13
Minnesota State
40
13
14
Holy Cross
39
RV
15
Mercyhurst
21
RV
Also receiving votes: St. Cloud State 13; Colgate 11; St. Thomas, 1.
SEE ALSO: Last Week’s College Hockey Rankings
