Two weeks from NJSIAA seeding, GMC and Skyland boys in play for three top seeds

The county tournaments get seeded in a week or less – the GMC Friday and Somerset County next Monday – but that’s not all area teams are thinking about.

The NJSIAA cutoff is a week from Saturday (February 10th) and the seeding meeting is in exactly two weeks, on February 13th. And a number of boys’ teams from Middlesex and Somerset County’s are in hotly-contested races for top seeds.

Here, we take a look at where all the CJSR-area teams stand in terms of the playoffs chase. A team’s top 16 power point values count toward seeding. Our analysis is based on official NJSIAA power points as published on NJ.com as of 11 am on January 30th.

Central Jersey Group 4: There’s been a bit of a shift here, with Montgomery (14-1) taking over the top spot, with 497 power points. And they have a big one with Rutgers Prep Tuesday (7 pm on CJSR – click here to listen). Monroe (13-5) led the Cougars in our last breakdown a little more than a week ago by seven points, but Monty just continues to win at this point, and we’d have to consider them the favorite to end up with the No. 1 seed, which would give them home court straight through to a potential CJ4 title game. The Falcons are in second, 71 points behind with 426. North Brunswick (12-7, 392) has climbed to third with Old Bridge (10-8, 390) now closely behind in fourth. Sayreville (12-7, 362) took some losses, and has fallen into a fifth-place tie with Howell (12-5). But that makes five teams in the top five or six here from the CJSR coverage area, so if all went to chalk, we could have some heavy local action when it gets to the semifinals, and a potential GMC-Skyland showdown in the title game. Also in the mix, further down the list, is East Brunswick, whiich sits in ninth despite an 8-11 mark and 304 points. New Brunswick (6-13, 203) and South Brunswick (3-14, 193) are in 17th and 18th places, respectively, on the outside of the bubble. But a couple of wins for either could still get them in.

Central Jersey Group 3: Only two area teams are in serious contention here. THe leader continues to be Red Bank Regional (15-3, 505 points), with the highest-standing area team being Somerville. The Pioneers are in seventh-place with an 8-10 record and 323 points, but within striking distance (within 40 points) of a top-four seed, which would get them home court through at least the sectional quarterfinals. Carteret (11-8, 286) sits in tenth, but just 36 points out of the top eight, so there’s room for the Ramblers to make a move, too.

Central Jersey Group 2: Manasquan – the defending statewide Group 2 champ – continues to hold a commanding lead on the top spot, with a 15-3 record and 524 points. Locally, Spotswood (13-5) is in fifth with 366 points, but just 18 points behind Delaware Valley (11-5) for the fourth spot. But with the Terriers having fewer wins, they may have the upper hand there. Bound Brook (13-6, 333) is in seventh, 49 points ahead of ninth-place rival Middlesex (11-8, 284). Two more teams are in the bottom half of the top 16 and likely will make the playoffs, but also likely will start on the road: Metuchen (10-10, 246, 13th place) and South River (8-9, 244, 14th).

Central Jersey Group 1: Henry Hudson (15-2, 352) and Shore (13-4, 347) remain Nos. 1 and 2 here, but Brearley (8-4, 276) has now moved ahead of Manville by the slimmest of margins. The Mustangs are 9-7 with 247 points. Catching Brearley only means potentially avoiding the top seed til the finals, though. Just six points behind Manville is South Amboy (12-7, 268) in fifth, and Perth Amboy Magnet (10-5, 267) is just one behind the Governors. Only 40 points separates the third place team Brearley from the 10th place team, Eagle Academy (8-8, 236). Near the bottom, but at least on the right side of the bubble, are Highland Park (6-11, 174) in 14th, and Somerset Tech (4-13, 172) right behind them. For those keeping score at home, Dave Boff’s College Achieve Asbury Park is 9-5 with 229 points, sitting in 11th. 

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 4: Here’s another section where the locals are in good shape up at the top, although the contenders from Somerset County have narrowed a bit. Watchung Hills still maintains a sizeable lead over Ridge. The Warriors are 14-3 with 528 points, with the Red Devils 12-4, and holding 472 points. Both could see a challenge from third-place Phillipsburg (15-1, 433) but also Woodbridge, which climbed from No. 8 to No. 4 this week, at 13-5, 419 points, no doubt helped by a win over South Plainfield, which currently leads North 2, Group 3’s standings (see below). Hillsborough (10-5, 384) lost three games last week, and fell from No. 5 to eighth, the last spot for a first round home game. Linden (13-5) is just behind them by three points, and just three behind the Tigers is Franklin (8-9, 378) in tenth. The Warriors benefitted from Hillsborough’s tough week, as they beat the Raiders last Thursday. On the outside looking in are three area teams, all of whom have a shot if they can score some late-season wins. In 17th is Bridgewater-Raritan (6-12, 295), which is just 38 points out of the final playoff spot. Right behind them are Piscataway (9-11, 287, 18th) and Perth Amboy (7-13, 270).

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 3: As mentioned in the previous section, South Plainfield has taken hold of the top spot – despite a loss to Woodbridge last week at home – with a narrow lead over Cranford, which was first in our last breakdown. The Tigers are 14-5 with 479 points, while the Cougars have 478 with a 13-5 record. Watch this one closely, because Cranford has potentially more to gain with just 13 wins. Since victories are worth more than losses, getting to the magic number of 16 wins likely maximizes a team’s points, so Cranford essentially has three more wins they could add, while South Plainfield has two. And don’t count out Colonia for that top seed either. The Patriots (12-7) have 446 points, just 33 behind, and have fewer wins than both teams ahead of them.  Read: more room for improvement. North Plainfield (5-13, 248) is the only other area team even in the section, and the Canucks are just nine points behind 16th place Rahway.

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 2: The only area team here is Bernards, which is 10-6 with 326 points and sits in tenth, 29 points out of the top eight behind Caldwell (9-8, 355), which would at least give the Mountaineers a first round home game. Arts leads the section at 14-6 with 441 points, 2 ahead of Newark Collegiate (14-3).

Non-Public South A: This is such a competitive section that the top-ranked teams in the Bellamy & Son Paving Top Ten from each county are in the middle of the 13-team pack. What’s remarkable is that in the 13-team field, every single squad is .500 or better. That said, St. Joseph-Metuchen (14-5, 479 points) is still potentially in contention for a top seed. Currently, Paul VI (14-5) and Red Bank Catholic (13-6) are tied for first with 518 points. That’s just 39 ahead of the Falcons, with CBA (13-4, 485) in between. Next up is Pingry (11-3, 417) in eighth, and Rutgers Prep (11-5, 410) right behind them. The Argonauts’ game Tuesday night at Montgomery would move them up in a big way (7 pm on CJSR – click here to listen). Immaculata is in 11th at 9-8 with 332 points, tied with St. John Vianney (10-10). And just to drive home out point, Immaculata at .500 has the lowest winning percentage in the section, almost unheard of! Notre Dame, bringing up the rear in 13th place, is 8-7 (270 points).

Non-Public North B: Morris Catholic (16-1) remains atop the section with 545 points. The highest-standing local team in the 15-team field (whether it ends with that number of teams remains to be seen) is St. Thomas Aquinas (12-6, 390). The Trojans are in fourth, 40 points ahead of fifth-place Timothy Christian (11-6, 350) with Gill St. Bernard’s (9-9, 317) having an off year, but still in the thick of things. With a ton of roster turnover, the Knights hope to finish strong, and could be one of those scary middle-of-the-pack teams. Wardlaw-Hartridge (0-17, 126) checks in at No. 13.

Non-Public South B: St. Rose of Belmar pretty much has things wrapped up in what otherwise is a fairly weak section. Unlike South A, of the 14 teams here, only six teams are above .500, with a wild one at No. 3: Wildwood Catholic with 320 points, but just a 7-13 record! Calvary Christian is the only local team here, with the Old Bridge squad at 13-2 but behind Wildwood Catholic by three, with 317 points.