Rutgers Prep, Middlesex girls expected to get top seeds in NJSIAA tourney; brackets out Wednesday

With the cutoff for the NJSIAA state tournament in the rear view mirror, and brackets to be announced Wednesday, it looks like the Rutgers Prep and Montgomery girls’ basketball teams will have top seeds, with 41 schools from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area qualifying.

Scroll down for a section-by-section look at how things will likely shake out. Our standings are based on NJSIAA power point standings as officially reported by NJ.com. These numbers may not have been checked for accuracy by the state or any of the participating schools, and the NJSIAA does not typically release opt-outs or teams disqualified for the tournament, so the projected matchups may change from what is printed here:

Central Jersey Group 4: Hightstown (20-3) should get the top-seed, while Monroe (16-8) should finish at No. 3, guaranteed home court through the first two rounds. It looks like the Falcons would open at home against 14-seed Long Branch (7-15). East Brunswick (14-9) checks in fifth, right above South Brunswick (12-11). The Lady Bears will likely host Freehold Twp. (10-11), while the Vikings would host Northern Burlington (12-9). Old Bridge appears to have held on to the No. 8 spot, while Montgomery gained two spots since Friday night and ended in a ninth-place tie with Middletown South. They did not meet head-to-head, and both beat Allentown, their only common opponent, so it would seed the third tiebreaker – winning percentage – would go to Montgomery at 11-12 (.478) over Middletown South at 9-11 (.450). That would put Montgomery at Old Bridge in the first round.

Central Jersey Group 3: None of the area teams moved any here in the last day, so we have Ewing as the projected top seed at 19-5, with Somerville (20-3) third, likeloy hosting 14-seed South Plainfield (11-11) in the opening round. No one else from the area will host, as Carteret (14-10) finished 12th, and JFK kept the 16th slot. That would have the Rambmlers opening at Robbinsville (15-9) and the Lady Mustangs (4-18) playing at top seed Ewing in the sectional first round.

Central Jersey Group 2: New Providence is solidly the top-seed here, and one of the CJSR-area teams made a move yesterday, but two should open at home. The first is Sposwood (19-5) at No. 6, which would host 111-seed Holmdel (13-9), while seventh-seed Metuchen (16-8) likely gets 10-seed Bordentown (17-4). South River (17-7) just missed the top eight, so the Rams should start on the road at 8-seed Delaware Valley (14-8). Bound Brook (13-8) finished 12th, and should open up at Wall (17-6).

Central Jersey Group 1: There are two CJSR-area teams at the top of this section, so if things go to chalk, we could get an all-GMC final here. Red-hot Middlesex – with two upsets in the GMC Tournament this week as the 14-seed over 3rd-seed JP Stevens and 6th-seed South Brunswick – surged to the top and should easily get the No. 1 seed. They would host 16-seed Somerset Tech (1-16), if they participate. Dunellen (17-6) is in second and would likely also get another GMC opponent, 15th-seed Woodbridge Magnet (3-16). Elsewhere, Manville (10-13) ended up fifth, and would likely host Henry Hudson (8-12) in the opening round, while Highland Park (10-10) – right behind the Mustangs in sixth – would take on another GMC foe in Perth Amboy Magnet (16-12). Also in this section, South Amboy (5-16) checks in at 13, and would visit 14th-seed Point Pleasant Beach (12-11) in the opener.

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 4: A win for Hillsborough over 16-6 Mendham Saturday propelled the Lady Raiders (15-7) to the No. 2 spot, guaranteeing home court through at least the sectional semifinals. It looks like ‘Boro will get Linden (8-13), the 15-seed, at home in the opening round. JP Stevens (18-5) clocks in at No. 4, and would host Ridge (10-14) in the opener. Franklin broke out of a seventh-place tie Saturday into sixth, all by itself, and the Lady Warriors are poised to host Soctch Plains-Fanwood (12-10). Woodbridge (13-11) checks in at No. 9, while Piscataway (11-11) is right behind in tenth. The Lady Barrons would open at No. 9 Phillipsburg, (13-8), while Piscataway would get Hunterdon Central (14-9), the seven seed. Watchung Hills – which was on the bubble at 16 Saturday – fell out into 18th behind Perth Amboy, and won’t qualify.

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 3: No changes here for the only two CJSR-area teams in the section. After top-seed Chatham (21-2), Colonia snags the No. 2 seed by a wide margin, and the 18-7 Patriots would host Belleville (14-4) in the opener. They’ll also have home court through the sectional semis if they advance that far. North Plainfield (18-5) checks in at No. 5, and would host West Morris (13-11) in the first round.

North Jersey, Section 2 – Group 2: The only area team here is Bernards (11-13), which didn’t move on the cutoff date; they should start on the road at 7-seed Verona (16-6). Secaucus (18-5) and Rutherford (17-5) ended up tied for the top seed with 609 points, but Secaucus will get the top seed by virtue of two head-to-head wins against Rutherford.

Non-Public North B: There are 16 teams listed in the section, but St. Benedict’s won’t be in it, so we count 15 without any opt-outs. That would give top-seed and defending Group B state champion Morris Catholic (22-0) a bye, and maybe more teams could get one if others opt-out. Gill St. Bernard’s is No. 3 and should host 14th-seed Hawthorne Christian (10-2) in the first round. Wardlaw-Hartridge (14-4) finished seventh, while Mother Seton (10-7) finished 10th, and we expect Wardlaw to host the Setters in the opening round, with the winner traveling to Morris Catholic in the sectional quarterfinals.

Non-Public South B: This top-seed goes easily to Rutgers Prep (18-4), the defending sectional champion. The question is whether they will get a first round bye in what now is a 16-team section. Noor-ul-iman (1-3) is the 16-seed, but NJSIAA regulations don’t have a minimum games requirement, just that 60% are played against New Jersey schools. All four opponents were from the Garden State, but it wouldn’t be a stretch if they opt-out. If not, they would face Rutgers Prep, but we think the Argos will get a bye here. Otherwise, Timothy Christian appears to have placed ninth, and would open down at 8th-seed Bishop Eustace (14-7). 

Non-Public South A: Even with a win Saturday over Spotswood in the GMC Tournament quarterfinals, St. Thomas Aquinas (19-7) dropped a spot to third behind Trinity Hall. In a 14-team field, if all participated, the top two – including top-seed Red Bank Catholic (21-4) would get byes. Third-seed Aquinas would get 14-seed Princeton Day (3-14), if they participate. Pingry (16-5) finished fifth and would get 12-seed Donovan Catholic (8-14) at home, while Mount St. Mary finished ninth at 13-10 and would visit OUr Lady of Mercy (20-5) in the first round. Immaculata (9-13) would also be on the road, as the 10th-seed, visiting Paul VI (18-4).