Girls’ Power Points Update in Central Jersey sections: Franklin appears to have locked down No. 1 seed in CJ4 with upset of Gill in SCT; Bound Brook looks like 2-seed in CJ 2

With playoff qualification in high school basketball closing Saturday at the NJSIAA cutoff, Franklin’s big win over Gill St. Bernard’s in the Somerset County Tournament semifinals may have been enough to help the Warriors claim the top-seed in Central Jersey Group 4, the only section to be lead by a CJSR-area team.

Below is a look at all the area teams in the Central Jersey playoff brackets, based on NJ.com power point standings as of 2 pm on Sunday, February 15, 2026. It should be noted that the standings could change as the NJSIAA confirms records and details of the formula heading into Tuesday’s seeding meeting in Robbinsville, at which point the brackets will be announced. They become official (pending any discrepancies) as of noon on Wednesday.

First round action begins on Tuesday, March 24th.

Below is our analysis of the sections, and unofficial projected matchups, in the Central Jersey playoff sections. Click on the header for each section to visit the NJ.com standings for that section. Please note that unlike football, there is no “head-to-head” jump of teams, unless they are tied in power points, in which case head-to-head is merely the first of several tiebreakers.

Top eight seeds get first round home games, the top four are guaranteed the first two rounds, and top two get home court advantage through the semifinals.

Central Jersey Group 4:

Franklin (17-7) was ahead of East Brunswick (20-4) by just 0.196 points on Super Bowl Sunday, but a 4-0 week capped by an upset of defending champion Gill St. Bernard’s in the SCT semis Saturday grew the Warriors’ lead to nearly four full points, so they appear well-locked in as the No. 1 seed ahead of the bears, and then No. 3 Hillsborough (16-6). It should be noted that there is no top-down head-to-head adjustment in basketball as there is in football, or else the Raiders would have jumped the Bears, having beaten them at home back on January 22. So in this case, they stay where they are; head-to-head only comes into play as the first tiebreaker if teams are tied in power points, which is very rare based on the nature of the system and power point averages calculated to three decimal places. Hunterdon Central (15-8) rounds out the top four. Then, we get Jackson Twp., Princeton, Marlboro and Freehold Twp. rounding out the top eight, all of whom get to open at home.

That leaves a bunch of area teams starting on the road, all bunched up in positions nine through 13. Only New Brunswick (12-10) fell out of the top eight, going all the way to 12. Sayreville (18-5) rose one spot in the past week to get to nine; Montgomery (11-12) edged up from eleven to ten; Old Bridge (10-13) skyrocketed from 14 to eleven thanks to a 2-1 week; the Zebras fell four spots to 12; and Monroe (10-11) climbed from 15 to 13 on a 2-1 week. All those teams were very tightly packed in the final week. Trenton, West Windsor-Plainsboro South and Hightstown round out the field of 16 here, where – if things stay as they are – all eight first round games will feature one Central Jersey Sports Radio team.

Here are the projected first round matchups:

• (16) Hightstown at (1) Franklin
• (15) West Windsor-Plainsboro South at (2) East Brunswick
• (14) Trenton at (3) Hillsborough
• (13) Monroe at (4) Hunterdon Central
• (12) New Brunswick at (5) Jackson Twp.
• (11) Old Bridge at (6) Princeton
• (10) Montgomery at (7) Marlboro
• (9) Sayreville at (8) Freehold Twp.

Central Jersey Group 2:

Though their lead got a bit smaller in the past week, it was enough for Manasquan (19-4) to retain the top seed, and in fact, the top seven here remain unchanged from a week ago. That means Rumson-Fair Haven (16-8), Johnson (18-3) and South River (19-7) complete the top four in this section. Bordentown (18-2) is at No. 5, followed by Piscataway Magnet (18-4), Point Pleasant Boro (11-12), and Delaware Valley (11-13) at No. 8.

The Terriers wrested away the eighth spot from Spotswood (14-10), which dropped to nine and will miss out on a first-round home game. Delran, Governor Livingston and Robbinsille are next, followed by Metuchen (12-11) at 13, which gained two spots in the past week after going 2-1 since our last update. Holmdel, Wall and Ocean Twp. round out the field of 16, with East Brunswick Magnet (8-11) falling out from the 16 spot to 17 after losing their only game this past week.

Here are the projected first round matchups:

• (16) Ocean Twp. at (1) Manasquan
• (15) Wall at (2) Rumson-Fair Haven
• (14) Holmdel at (3) Johnson
• (13) Metuchen at (4) South River
• (12) Robbinsville at (5) Bordentown
• (11) Governor Livingston at (6) Piscataway Magnet
• (10) Delran at (7) Pt. Pleasant Boro
• (9) Spotswood at (8) Delaware Valley

Central Jersey Group 1:

We’re not sure if Bound Brook‘s narrow loss to Rutgers Prep in Saturday’s Somerset County Tournament semifinal cost them a shot at the top seed, but it was likely close, as the Crusaders were 1.399 points away from top-seed New Providence, but finished 0.756 points back. So those top two stay the same, with the Pioneers at 22-1, and the Crusaders 21-2. Keansburg (19-1) shot up from sixth to third since last Sunday, and South Amboy (17-6) on a 2-1 week pulled up from fifth to fourth, getting then an extra home game should they win in the opening round.

That leaves five through eight as Brearley (14-4), Roselle Park (15-7), Thrive Charter (10-10) and Shore (14-10).

Middlesex (14-1) and Manville (16-7) hold right where they were a week ago, at eight and nine, respectively, while Florence (11-11) holds at eleven, and Highland Park (8-16) holds on to the 12th position. Henry Hudson edged up to 13, College Achieve Central (8-10) went down to 14, while two out-of-the-bubble teams got in at the last two spots in the field of 16; South Hunterdon (4-18) came up from 20 on the strength of a 2-1 week that doubled their win total (remember we said how just one win by a team with only a couple or a few could make a big difference?) while Dayton (2-19) snuck in from 17. The Bulldogs have a brutal schedule, which includes Group 4 schools like Linden and Elizabeth, the second of which is the biggest high school in New Jersey. They took the spot of Dunellen (3-20), which fell out to 17.

Here are the projected first-round matchups:

• (16) Dayton at (1) New Providence
• (15) South Hunterdon at (2) Bound Brook
• (14) College Achieve Central at (3) Keansburg
• (13) Henry Hudson at (4) South Amboy
• (12) Highland Park at (5) Brearley
• (11) Florence at (6) Roselle Park
• (10) Manville at (7) Thrive Charter
• (9) Middlesex at (8) Shore