Crowded GMC Red Division could end up with four of seven teams tied for first

If North Brunswick were to lose its GMC Red Division game Thursday afternoon against South Brunswick (4 pm on CJSR) it may be the end of the universe.

No, not really, but chaos really could ensue.

And they very well could lose out on getting the top-seed in the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament.

The simplest thing for all involved – including the GMC seeding committee, which meets Friday morning at 9 am in East Brunswick – would be a Raiders’ win over the Vikings. That would put them at 8-4 in the division, and even if Monroe were to beat Old Bridge Thursday (also at 4 pm, at Fred Cole Field in Old Bridge) and end up with the same 8-4 mark, the Raiders swept the Falcons, and would likely be the top-seed in the tournament.

But if North Brunswick loses, we could be talking about a four-way tie.

Here are the GMC Red Division Standings as they sit heading into Thursday’s games, followed by the schedule:

TEAM	RECORD
North Brunswick	7-4
Monroe	7-4
St. Joseph-Metuchen	7-5
Old Bridge	6-5

A North Brunswick loss would put them at 7-5. If Monroe were to beat Old Bridge (St. Joe’s is idle) they would be 8-4 and win the division, likely gaining the top seed.

If Old Bridge were to win, you’d have North Brunswick at 7-5, Monroe dropping to 7-5, and Old Bridge improving to 7-5, with Joe’s already at 7-5. Yes, you’d have a four-way tie.

Head-to-head would be the ideal way to break it. In that scenario:

• North Brunswick would be 4-2 against the group (swept Monroe and St. Joe’s, swept by Old Bridge)
• Old Bridge would be 4-2 against the group (swept North Brunswick, split with St. Joe’s and Monroe
• Monroe would be 2-4 against the group (swept by North Brunswick, split with St. Joe’s and Old Bridge)
• St. Joseph would be 2-4 against the group (swept by North Brunswick, split with Monroe and Old Bridge)

That would conceivably leave you with a two-way tie between North Brunswick and Old Bridge, and the Knights should then get the top-seed, since they would have swept two games from North Brunswick.

As if that weren’t enough, let’s throw one more wrinkle in there: the weather forecast calls for a 50% chance of rain around game time.

If everything were to get washed out, the standings would remain as is, with North Brunswick and Monroe tied at 7-4, and the Raiders getting the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping Monroe. It’s unlikely one game would get wiped out and not the other, with the forecast calling for showers through about 7 or 8 pm, except for the fact that Fred Cole Field in Old Bridge has lights.

If only they were to play, an Old Bridge win would leave North Brunswick 7-4, Monroe 7-5, St. Joe’s 7-5 and Old Bridge 7-5. The nod could go to the Raiders, and the key for the committee would be that divisional play was not completed, thus there is no champion. (The game could be made up later to determine a champion, but not for seeding purposes.)

The committee could consider what the expected result of the North Brunswick-South Brunswick game would have been if they had played. The Raiders beat them Tuesday 10-0.

If Monroe won, they’d be 8-4, with North Brunswick 7-4, and neither Joe’s not Old Bridge really a factor. Again, it comes down to there not being a division champ, and the committee could look at the expected result.

Could the committee choose to delay the seeding meeting? Or just determining the No. 1 seed? That’s unlikely, but anything is possible. However, Friday’s forecast is better, but not great, still about a 20% chance of showers around game time.

Keep in mind, the added wrinkle here is that with the GMC Tournament expanded to 20 teams, the first round features teams 13 through 20 playing on Saturday. So it’s not as if the 16th seed would be determined Friday and top seed would know who they’re playing Monday in the second round anyway. They could even wait and play the game Saturday. They probably won’t but again, anything could happen.