GMC and Somerset County Tournament champions have been crowned, regular season games are done for teams that were knocked out of their county tournaments early, and now it’s a one-and-done for every team that qualified for the NJSIAA State Tournament.
For the first time, the Tournament of Champions – which began play in 1989 with the St. Anthony boys’ from Jersey City and the Hoffman girls from South Amboy winning the inaugural titles – will not be played. It was eliminated last year by the NJSIAA when it shortened seasons in order to leave more time off between seasons for student-athletes who play multiple sports. (More on that some other time.)
A total of 74 teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area are in the playoffs, 38 on the girls’ side, 36 for the boys. Groups 1 and 3 begin play Monday, while Groups 2 and 4 start Tuesday. Non-public sections begin Wednesday.
A number of area teams on the boys’ side are top seeds in their respective sections, and several have a good shot at a sectional title. Sectional finals take place next week, with Group Championships taking place next weekend, March 3rd through the 5th at Rutgers’ Jersey Mike’s Arena and Toms River’s RWJBarnabas Arena.
Who’s got a good shot at a title?
Let’s start on the boys’ side, where there are some really good teams in Central Group 4, but if we had to pick a team to make a deep run, we’d go with 6th-seed South Brunswick. The Vikings played top-seed and now three-time defending champion St. Thomas Aquinas to within a single possession in Friday night’s GMC Final, and senior forward Harmehar Chhabra impressed. He’s a heady player, and makes those around him better. Don’t sleep on South Brunswick, which will face 11th-seed Old Bridge in a GMC Red Division opening round matchup tomorrow night.
South River got the No. 1 seed in Central Group 2, and the Rams should be a good bet to get at least to the finals, where they would likely face a very tough Manasquan club. But they would have to come to South River’s band box gym, and any visiting fans better get there early, lest they get shut out. And don’t look past a looming third battle this season with 8-seed Spotswood, which hung tough against the Rams in the first week of the season; they played South River tighter than almost anyone else this year. Fourth-seed Bound Brook also has to be a threat. The Crusaders and Rams played a fun one back in January at The Brook that saw South River come out on top.
Ridge also got a top seed, in North 2 Group 4, but those are tough matchups to predict in that section. The No. 2 seed is Linden, coming off a nine-point loss to the No. 1 team in the state, Roselle Catholic, in the Union County Tournament title game. Franklin could make some noise, too, as the 7-seed, but would run into Linden in the second round assuming they get past 10-seed Irvington in their opener tomorrow night.
South Plainfield is also another very good ballclub, and the Tigers open with 16-seed Voorhees at home. They could also have to get past another solid team in 4-seed Colonia in the semifinals, if it came down to it.
And Non-Public North B is intriguing, with St. Thomas Aquinas getting the top seed (No. 5 ranking statewide) and Roselle Catholic (No. 1) getting the fourth seed. That’s the way power points go. Point is, the Trojans have a bye, and if both teams get there, a potential RC-STA semifinal awaits in North Edison between two heavyweights next Monday night. Roselle Catholic would have to beet 14th-sedd Koinonia, then either 5th-sedd Morris Catholic or 12th-seed Morristown-Beard, while Aquinas would have to dispatch of either 9-seed Eastern Christian or 8-seed Timothy Christian. Gill St. Bernard’s – the two-seed – awaits on the other side of the bracket.
On the girls’ side, despite an up-and-down season, fifth-seed Colonia in North 2, Group 3 can make a run, and has to have some confidence even though they lost by seven to St. Thomas Aquinas in the GMC final Friday night. That’s because just 15 days prior, they had lost to the same Trojans by 50. Have Sandi Chiera give them a game plan, execute it, and they’re dangerous with the duo of senior Matti Chiera and junior Taylor Derkack.
Dunellen was good enough this season to get a three-seed in Central 1, but they could meet two-seed Middlesex in the sectional semifinals; whoever potentially comes out of that game – if they indeed meet – would most likely face a very tough Shore Regional team.
In the non-publics, yhe path is tough for GMC Girls’ champ St. Thomas Aquinas, as they’re in the same section (Non-Public South A) as St. John Vianney, which is the top-seed and gets a bye, but the Trojans can play. And you always have to love Rutgers Prep, the three-seed and defending champion in Non-Public South B. Their biggest challenge should be in the semifinals, a potential matchup with 2-seed St. Rose of Belmar, which got knocked out of the Shore Conference Tournament in the semifinals by the Lady Lancers.
Here’s the schedule of opening state tournament games for all area teams. All games are first round games except where noted.
BOYS’ TOURNAMENT
MONDAY
Central Group 3
#14 Somerville at #3 Hamilton West
#10 Carteret at #7 Matawan
Central Group 1
#12 Brearley at #5 Highland Park
#14 Somerset Tech at #3 Point Pleasant Beach
#11 South Amboy at #6 Manville
#15 Dunellen at #2 Shore
North 2 Group 3
#16 Voorhees at #1 South Plainfield
#13 North Hunterdon at #4 Colonia
TUESDAY
Central Group 4
#16 Sayreville at #1 Trenton
#9 Montgomery at #8 West Windsor-Plainsboro South
#13 East Brunswick at #4 Jackson Memorial
#14 Princeton at #3 North Brunswick
#11 Old Bridge at #6 South Brunswick
Central Group 2
#16 East Brunswick Magnet at #1 South River
#9 Point Pleasant Boro at #8 Spotswood
#13 Holmdel at #4 Bound Brook
#10 Middlesex at #7 Roselle
North 2, Group 4
#16 Woodbridge at #1 Ridge
#12 Watchung Hills at #5 Westfield
#14 JP Stevens at #3 Hillsborough
#10 Irvington at #7 Frannklin
#15 Piscataway at #2 Linden
North 2 Group 2
#11 Bernards at #6 Hackettstown
WEDNESDAY
Non-Public South A
#11 Pingry at #6 St. Joseph-Metuchen
#10 Christian Brothers at #7 Rutgers Prep
Non-Public North B
#9 Eastern Christian at #8 Timothy Christian
Non-Public South B
#12 Doane Academy at #5 Calvary Christian
FRIDAY
Non-Public South A Quarterfinals
Winner of #11 Pingry/#6 St. Joseph-Metuchen at #3 Immaculata
Non-Public North B Quarterfinals
Winner of #9 Eastern Christian/#8 Timothy Christian at #1 St. Thomas Aquinas
Winner of #10 Hawthorne Christian/#7 Saddle River Day at #2 Gill St. Bernard’s
GIRLS’ TOURNAMENT
MONDAY
Central Group 3
#12 Jackson Liberty at #5 Somerville
#13 Carteret at #4 Allentown
#10 South Plainfield at #7 Robbinsville
#15 JFK at #2 Ocean Twp.
Central Group 1
#9 Manville at #8 South Hunterdon
#12 Somerset Tech at #5 Point PLeasant Beach
#13 Keyport at #4 Perth Amboy Magnet
#14 Henry Hudson at #3 Dunellen
#11 Woodbridge Magnet at #6 Highland Park
#15 Florence at #2 Middlesex
North 2 Group 3
#9 Governor Livingston at #8 North Plainfield
#12 Nutley at #5 Colonia
TUESDAY
Central Group 4
#16 North Brunswick at #1 Hightstown
#9 Marlboro at #8 Old Bridge
#13 West Windsor-Plainsboro North at #4 East Brunswick
#14 Northern Burlington at #3 Monroe
#15 Freehold Township at #2 South Brunswick
Central Group 2
#11 Bound Brook at #6 Spotswood
#10 South River at #7 Metuchen
North 2 Group 4
#9 Woodbridge at #8 Hillsborough
#12 Union at #5 Edison
#11 Franklin at #6 Watchung Hills
#10 Ridge at #7 Scotch Plains-Fanwood
North 2 Group 2
#13 Bernards at #4 Dayton
WEDNESDAY
Non-Public South A
#9 Our Lady of Mercy at #8 Pingry
#12 Union Catholic at #5 St. Thomas Aquinas
#11 Immaculata at #6 Camden Catholic
Non-Public South B
#14 Moorestown Prep at #3 Rutgers Prep
#11 Timothy Christian at #6 Trenton Catholic
#10 Calvary Christian at #7 Bishop Eustace
FRIDAY
Non-Public North B Quarterfinals
#5 Gill St. Bernard’s at #4 Montclair-Immaculate
#7 Wardlaw-Hartridge at #2 Morris Catholic
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