Sure, we’ve barely gotten into the meat of conference play yet, but with many teams around seven, eight or more games into the 2025-26 high school basketball season, more than a few teams from the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area are at least in the running for top seeds in their respective sections.
There are a few changes this year. While there weren’t many alterations to the classifications, the biggest one is that the merger of Jackson Liberty (Central Group 2) and Jackson Memorial (Central Group 3) puts the new Jackson Township into Central Jersey Group 4, along with a host of GMC and Somerset County schools.
Also, a tweak was made to the power points formula. Where all games last season were counted toward a team’s average, only the best 16 will count this year, ostensibly to avoid hurting teams who played any clunkers on their schedule, which they might have no control of based on divisional assignments by their conference.
That said, here’s a not-too-in-depth look at each section, and where the teams in the Central Jersey Sports Radio coverage area stand, based on NJ.com’s official calculations as of 11:30 am on January 2nd. The NJSIAA Cutoff Date is February 14th, with seeding on the 17th.
Central Jersey Group 4: This is the section most densely populated with teams from our area, half of the 22 teams in all, including eight from the GMC and three from Somerset County. Two-time defending champion Montgomery (8-0) is in second, a slim margin behind Marlboro (4-1), with East Brunswick (7-1) just a shade behind the Cougars. Franklin (5-2) sits in a good spot in sixth, with Sayreville (5-2) in eighth, followed South Brunswick (5-1), Hillsborough (3-3) and Edison (4-2). All very much have a shot at finishing in the top eight and getting at least a first round playoff game at home. Monroe (1-5, 17th), Old Bridge (1-5, 18th) and New Brunswick (0-4, 19th) will need to turn things around quickly or face an uphill climb to the cutoff date.
Central Jersey Group 2: Metuchen (5-0) sits in third, but a decent distance – about four points – behind Rumson-Fair Haven (7-0) and Wall (5-0) in first and second, and asking the Bulldogs to catch those teams with their schedule may be asking a lot, even at this early date. Spotswood (2-2) is the next team down, at 13th, so they may have some work to do. East Brunswick Magnet (2-4) sits in 17th, and will need to pick up some wins to stay in the hunt.
Central Jersey Group 1: Defending Group 1 champ Thrive Charter (5-1) sits in first, but a slim margin separates second-place Point Pleasant Beach (5-2) and Bound Brook (6-1), with Piscataway Magnet (6-1) not far behind the Crusaders. Then, there are three more area teams from sixth through eighth, and all tightly packed: South Amboy (6-1), followed by Manville (3-3) and Middlesex (3-2). Next, Dunellen (3-3) checks in at 13, and may be a bottom-half team when all is said and done. Highland Park (3-5) checks in at 16, but there are a bunch of teams nipping at their heels – four, to be exact – within one point; among them are Perth Amboy Magnet (2-3) and Somerset Tech (3-4) in 19th and 20th, respectively.
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4: Two unbeaten teams from the area hold the top two spots here, and both are unbeaten. How long they go without a loss could determine whether they stay there, but remember, even a loss or two may not hurt them with power points no longer counting all games, just the best 16 (i.e., a team that’s 16-2 likely wouldn’t have those losses count, unless any of them were more than a win). Piscataway (9-0) is at No. 1, followed by Bridgewater-Raritan (7-0). Certainly teams behind them can catch them – Scotch Plains-Fanwood (4-2) and Bayonne (6-0) are all within a point or so of the Panthers – but it’s always better to be playing with a lead, right? JP Stevens (5-1) is off to a very good start after a 3-19 season last year, and is sitting in eighth, with Perth Amboy (5-3) at ten. Both should have a good shot to be in the top eight. Woodbridge (2-3) sits in 13th, with Watchung Hills (3-3) and Ridge (2-4) in 15th and 16th, and all would be considered early bubble teams. But of note here are the Red Devils, who were missing a few players early on during an 0-4 start, but have now won two straight.
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3: Four-time defending champion Colonia (2-5) has struggled early on, but they’ve lost some close ones – like to Piscataway in double-overtime before Christmas – as they try and figure out everyone’s roles after losses to graduation (Nick Smith), early graduation (R.J. Wortman), transfer (Aiden Derkack) and others just not playing basketball. The Patriots currently sit in 16th, but we have a feeling they’ll find some more wins here as the season warms up. Meanwhile, South Plainfield is off to a solid 5-1 start, and the Tigers (who we’ll se Tuesday night at 7 against Colonia on CJSR) are in third. Millburn (6-0) is first, well ahead of second-place Chatham (6-0), but South is not far behind the Cougars. And Somerville (5-1) isn’t far behind the Tigers. The next team is all the way down in 14th: North Plainfield (2-4), and Carteret (3-4, 18th) and JFK (1-4, 19th) aren’t out of the question to earn a bid.
North Jersey, Section 2, Group 2: Caldwell (5-1) leads the group, with Newark Collegiate (4-2) not far behind. The only area team in this section is Bernards (2-5), currently sitting in 12th place.
Non-Public South A: The lead is two power points – not insurmountable this early, but not impossible either – for No. 1 St. Peter’s Prep (5-1) over Immaculata (4-1). The Spartans might need to take someone down in Skyland Conference play to do it, but they had Montgomery on the ropes back on December 18th in Skillman, ahead 47-44 going into the fourth quarter, before eventually falling 72-62; that was the Cougars’ slimmest win of the year, though the two will not meet again. Always-pesky Pingry (5-1) sits in sixth, with ninth and tenth held by St. Joseph-Metuchen (5-0) and St. Thomas Aquinas (2-4), with the two separated by around 2.6 points.
Non-Public North B: Unless they go into some tailspin, count on Morris Catholic being the No. 1 seed, as they are 6-0 and have almost double the power points of second-place Gill St. Bernard’s (5-2). The next team from the area is at eleven – Timothy Christian (1-4) – with Wardlaw-Hartridge (0-3) in 14th.
Non-Public South B: Despite a solid 5-1 start, Rutgers Prep sits in fourth, but they’re just about two-and-a-half points behind first place Holy Cross Prep (5-0), with Doane Academy (8-0) and Bishop Eustace (7-1) in above them. Calvary Christian (2-4) sits in 12th.