Girls’ Basketball Cutoff Projections: Hillsborough, Gill St. Bernard’s should get top-seeds when NJSIAA reveals brackets Tuesday

With the NJSIAA’s cutoff for state tournament qualification in high school basketball come and gone Saturday, two area girls’ teams appear to have clinched top seeds, with 42 of 49 teams qualifying.

Hillsborough is expected to earn the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, while Gill St. Bernard’s looks to have No. 1 locked down in Non-Public North B. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Raiders and Knights will face each other this Saturday at 1 pm in the Somerset County Tournament championship game.

Here’s a section-by-section look of projections – along with likely first round matchups for local clubs – based on standings published on NJ.com as of the noon closing on Sunday, February 16th. Please remember all projections are unofficial. The NJSIAA will release official seeding and brackets on Tuesday.

Central Jersey Group 4: Last year’s North 2, Group 4 winner Hillsborough (18-5) hung on to the top seed over Monroe (16-7) since our last update a week ago – and no doubt helped solidify their cause with Saturday’s win over four-time defending champion Rutgers Prep in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals – with Franklin (8-15) holding at the five. Edison (15-10) finished strong to pull up from six to eight, while East Brunswick (12-12) dropped a pot to eighth and South Brunswick (11-12) held in ninth. Old Bridge (9-12) checks in at No. 12, while New Brunswick (12-12) dropped below them to 14th. Montgomery (9-15) solidified its standing with a couple of wins, and gets in at 15, while North Brunswick (9-15) went 2-2 since to slide into the final spot.

• (16) North Brunswick (9-15) at (1) Hillsborough (18-5)
• (15) Montgomery (9-15) at (2) Monroe (16-7)
• (14) New Brunswick (12-12) at (3) Hightstown (15-9)
• (12) Old Bridge (11-13) at (5) Franklin (8-15)
• (11) Hunterdon Central at (6) Edison (15-10)
• (9) South Brunswick (11-12) at (8) East Brunswick (12-12)

Central Jersey Group 2: Manasquan (20-3) holds on to the top spot here, and the highest-ranked team from the CJSR area remains at No. 6: that’s Metuchen (19-4). Spotswood (17-7) dropped out of the top eight, falling from seventh to ninth, while Piscataway Magnet (12-8) holds in tenth. East Brunswick Magnet (4-17) didn’t play in the past week, but rose one spot to take the 16th and final playoff berth.

• (16) East Brunswick Magnet (4-17) at (1) Manasquan (20-3)
• (12) Piscataway Magnet (12-8) at (5) Delaware Valley (17-8)
• (11) Wall (8-13) at (6) Metuchen (19-4)
• (9) Spotswood (17-7) at (8) Holmdel (8-14)

Central Jersey Group 1: No change at the top from last week, with New Providence (22-2) at No. 1, followed by Thrive Charter (13-5), Bound Brook (16-6) third and Middlesex (19-6) fourth. The Blue Jays made the the finals last year, but fell to Shore, which gets the five-seed at 14-10. Further down, Manville (10-10) pulled up four spots in the last week to No. 10, but still starts on the road. Highland Park (11-11) lost four straight this past week, dropping the Owls from ninth to 12th, with South Amboy (11-13) dropping two places from 11 to 13 after an 0-2 week. Woodbridge Magnet (8-13) also fell, from 13 to 15, but stayed in the field, while Perth Amboy Magnet (7-15) missed by 0.181 points.

• (15) Woodbridge Magnet (8-13) at (2) Thrive Charter (13-5)
• (14) Florence (10-11) at (3) Bound Brook (16-6)
• (13) South Amboy (11-13) at (4) Middlesex (19-6)
• (10) Manville (10-10) at (7) Dayton (9-12)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: The top four remain the same here from a week ago, with Bayonne (19-5) holding the top spot. Piscataway (11-10 dropped one spot from a week ago, but remains in the top eight at No. 7, but Bridgewater-Raritan (9-13) dropped, thanks to a 1-2 week, from seven to nine, losing out on a first-round home game.Watchung Hills (9-14) fell from nine to ten, and JP Stevens (11-13) dropped from ten to 12 on a 1-2 week. Ridge (6-17) stayed in the field at 14, but fell three places in the final week, with Perth Amboy (6-15) holding court at 15 despite a loss in their only game last week. Woodbridge (5-17) lost its only game, and fell out of the top 16, landing at 17, to miss the playoffs.

• (15) Perth Amboy (6-15) at (2) Westfield (19-5)
• (14) Ridge (6-17) at (3) Plainfield (15-9)
• (12) JP Stevens (11-13) at (5) North Star Academy (10-11)
• (10) Watchung Hills (9-14) at (7) Piscataway (11-10)
• (9) Bridgewater-Raritan at (8) Elizabeth (7-14)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3: The top three teams held court here in the final week, including Chatham (22-1) at No. 1 and Somerville (16-5) second, followed by Summit (13-6) in third. The next area team here is South Plainfield (13-8) in sixth, which went 1-1 in the week gone by, but pulled up three spots from ninth and got at least a first round home game out of the deal. However, Carteret dropped from seven to nine, despite a 2-1 week. North Plainfield (8-16) – which is in the GMC Tournament semifinals Tuesday for the first time in just its third year in the league – will start on the road, but jumped two places this week. And Colonia (5-17) holds in 15th.

• (15) Colonia (7-18) at (2) Somerville (18-5)
• (12) North Plainfield (8-16) at (5) Randolph (12-10)
• (10) Nutley (11-13) at (7) Carteret (16-7)
• (9) South Plainfield (14-9) at (8) Payne Tech (12-13)

North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2: Caldwell (21-2) hung on to the top spot here, and while the next two teams flip-flopped – Madison (18-5) into second and Rutherford (18-4) down to third, Bernards (18-5) held in fourth, which would guarantee at least the first two rounds at home, if they get there.

• (13) West Morris (13-12) at (4) Bernards (18-5)

Non-Public North A: It’s a 14-team field, assuming no opt-outs, which would give byes to the top two teams: Morris Catholic (20-0) – the defending Group B state champs two years running – and Pope John (17-4). After Immaculate Heart (14-8), Pingry (16-6) checks in at No. 4, same as they were last week.

• (13) St. Elizabeth (8-15) at (4) Pingry (16-6)

Non-Public South A: This should be a solid 15-team field, and that would leave top-seed Paul VI (22-0) with a bye. St. Thomas Aquinas (20-6) – which has dominated the GMC – checks in at No. 6, up one spot from last week. Immaculata (13-8) held in tenth, and Mount St. Mary (11-13) saw no change, staying at 13.

• (13) Mount St. Mary (11-13) at (4) St. John Vianney (20-5)
• (11) Camden Catholic (14-10) at (6) St. Thomas Aquinas (20-6)
• (10) Immaculata (13-8) at (7) Trinity Hall (18-7)

Non-Public North B: In what should be a 14-team field (we think Pioneer Academy is out at 0-14, in 15th) the top two should get byes here. It’s a moot point for Gill St. Bernard’s (19-3), which will have the No. 1 seed by a longshot, whether it’s 14 or 15 teams in the field. Montclair-Immaculate – which, it was announced this week, would be closing at the end of the school year – gets the two-seed at 16-7. The only other area team here would be Mother Seton (16-5) checking in at No. 7.

• (10) St. Dominic (7-17) at (7) Mother Seton (16-5)
• (9) Hawthorne Christian (14-5)/(8) Villa Walsh (17-6) winner at (1) Gill St. Bernards (19-3)

Non-Public South B: This should be a 14-team field since Noor-ul-iman is 1-1 and shouldn’t be in the field. That would leave top-seed Gloucester Catholic (19-4) and second-seed Rutgers Prep (17-5) – despite their SCT semifinal loss to Hillsborough Saturday – with opening round byes. A win Saturday might have given the Argonauts at top-seed, but with the sectional final at a neutral site – The GMC has the other three teams in this section, as Calvary Christian (19-2) checks in at No. 6, with Wardlaw-Hartridge (13-8) in eighth and Timothy Christian (8-15) in ninth, all the same as last week’s update.

• (11) Moorestown Friends (7-16) at (6) Calvary Christian (19-2)
• (10) Koinonia (7-12)/(7) Holy Cross Prep (13-12) winner at (2) Rutgers Prep (17-5)
• (9) Timothy Christian (8-15) at (8) Wardlaw-Hartridge (13-8)