Tag: postseason

by Mike Pavlichko

Instant reaction: How did Skyland postseason seeding go? Chair Jason Miller weighs in.

To say the 2021 high school basketball season was unique is an understatement. And it deserved a unique postseason event.

The payoff came Wednesday afternoon when the Skyland Conference released its postseason tournament seedings, with three pods each on the boys’ and girls’ side. The girls have three eight-team pods, while the boys have one eight-team pod and two pods of seven, since there’s no Mount St. Mary girls’ team and Phillipsburg is out, in COVID protocol.

I got the chance to sit down with South Hunterdon Athletic Director Jason Miller, the chair of the seeding committee that drew up the tournament. Click below to listen:

by Mike Pavlichko

No drama here: Gill boys, Rutgers Prep girls earn top seeds in top pods of one-off Skyland Conference postseason

There were no gasps, no OMGs. no jaws dropping when the Skyland Conference released its first-ever postseason tournament brackets, featuring three pods each for the boys and girls, playing down to a champion, and guaranteeing each team three games of postseason play.

The Bound Brook boys and girls also swept top seeds in the middle pod.

On the boys’ side, Gill St. Bernard’s – ranked No. 1 in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten – got the top seed in the top pod, which is being called the “Blue Division,” followed by Rutgers Prep, Montgomery, Hunterdon Central, Watchung Hills, Ridge, and Franklin. With only seven teams, Gill will get a first round bye.

In the “Gold Division,” undefeated Bound Brook earned the top-seed, followed by Pingry, Immaculata, Bernards, Hillsborough, Voorhees, North Hunterdon, and Bridgewater-Raritan.

The “Silver Division” top seed is Somerville, which will get a first round bye. The Pioneers are followed by Delaware Valley, Warren Hills, Manville, North Plainfield, South Hunterdon and Belvidere.

Phillipsburg is not participating on the boys side, with the Stateliners in COVID protocol.

On the girls’ side, the “Blue Division” features undefeated Rutgers Prep – the top ranked team in the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten – followed by Gill St. Bernard’s, Franklin, Phillipsburg, Hunterdon Central, undefeated Mount St. Mary, Ridge and Hillsborough.

The “Gold Division” has Bound Brook at No. 1, then Watchung Hills, Bridgewater-Raritan, Warren Hills, Voorhees, Somerville, North Hunterdon, and Montgomery.

The “Silver Division” has Immaculata as the top seed, followed by Belvidere, South Hunterdon, Delaware Valley, Pingry, Manville, Bernards, and North Plainfield.

The eight-team pods will follow a traditional playoff bracket to determine a champion. A consolation bracket will be held starting with the losing teams from the 1/8 and 4/5 game facing off, while those who lost in the 2/7 and 3/6 games will meet. Those winners would play in the third round against the two semifinal winners, while the losing teams would play each other.

In the seven-team brackets, the top seeds get byes. The loser of the 4/5 game would play the loser of the 3/6 game, while the loser of the 2/7 game would play the loser of the second round game between the top-seed and the 4/5 winner. There’s also a matchup between the loser of the 3/6 and 2/7 winners. That winner would play the winner of the 4/5 and 3/6 loser’s matchup, and the loser of the 2/7 vs. 1/4/5 game would play the winner or the 4/5 and 3/6 loser’s game.

Click here to see the full boys’ and girls’ brackets as released this afternoon by the Skyland Conference.

by Mike Pavlichko

Rutgers Prep girls, Gill St. Bernards boys should be “top seeds” in Skyland’s “postseason”

Barring the unthinkable happening for either team, the Rutgers Prep Girls and Gill St. Bernard’s boys are likely to be the top seeds in their respective Skyland Conference “postseasons,” where eight-team pods will be formed to play down to champions.

On the girls’ side, Rutgers Prep – No. 1 in the Central Jersey Sports Radio rankings – showed their dominance against the No. 2 team in the rankings, Franklin, handing the Warriors their second Skyland Conference defeat this week (they lost to Hillsborough Tuesday). That hasn’t happened since January 2017. The Argos led 35-6 at halftime and won 65-33.

Gill, meanwhile, sits atop the Delaware Division, with a rematch with second-place Hunterdon Central not coming until Thursday, the day after the Skyland seeds the tournament Wednesday morning. Seeding committee chair Jason Miller says all games up to and including Tuesday, February 23rd will be considered.

The committee will include Miller, the athletic director at South Hunterdon, as well as six other ADs: Montgomery’s Chris Penna, Phillipsburg’s Tom Fisher, Bound Brook’s Jeff Steele, Immaculata’s Mike Gambino, Bridgewater-Raritan’s John Maggio, and Rutgers Prep’s Mary Coyle-Klinger. Jack Baum – the Sykland’s assignor of officials – also is on the committee.

Girls’ play begins Monday, and will continue Wednesday and Friday, while the boys will start Tuesday, and continue Thursday and Saturday, the final day of play allowed this season by the NJSIAA, which is not holding the state tournament this year due to the COVID-shortened season.

While the top picks on the girls’ and boys’ side seem easy, who will be right behind them? Who else will be in the upper pod of eight on the girls’ side? What other teams will be in the boys’ top pod of seven? (The boys’ side has one less team than the girls.)

Here’s a look at Central Jersey Sports Radio’s projections, based on results through Saturday, February 20th.

Oh, and one last request: please be kind? This is my first basketball tournament projection – ever! I don’t like to do projections unless there’s math involved – even if it is the Born Power Index.

Skyland Boys’ Top 7 Pod:

  1. Gill St. Bernard’s (4-2) – The Knights are the easy top pick from the league’s top division, despite their two losses, which have both come out of conference – to Bergen Catholic and Patrick School. They have legit D1 talent, are ranked No. 6 statewide, and pass the eye test. They’re the best team in the league until someone knocks them off. In the seven-team format, Gill would get a bye from Monday’s first-round.
  2. Hunterdon Central (6-2) – The Red Devils are right behind the Knights, and gave them a run in a 77-64 road loss on Feb. 4 (click here for our postgame coverage). Too bad they won’t get another crack at Gill – at home – before the seeding is done.
  3. Montgomery (7-1) – How much will Monday night’s result against St. Joseph-Metuchen (6 pm on Central Jersey Sports Radio – click here to listen) weigh in? Tough to say. A win against one of the top few teams in the GMC and a state power program may boost the Cougars’ standing here more than a loss to a solid non-conference opponent. Their only loss came this week, to Shore Conference opponent Middletown North.
  4. Bound Brook (7-0) – Sure, the Crusaders are a small-school program, but undefeated has to count for something. And Bound Brook has been playing well, and deserves a home game (in a 4-5 matchup). The only problem is, only two of their seven opponents (Warren Hills and Bernards) have winning records at the moment. They’ve been mostly scoring points in bunches.
  5. Watchung Hills (6-2) – Led by dual-sport star Chad Martini – the football QB who just scored his 1,000th point – the Warriors are quietly having a good season, overshadowed in the big-boy Delaware Division by Gill and Hunterdon Central. Making the top seven would put three teams from the Delaware in the upper pod, but they deserve it. Hills lost by five to the Red Devils on February 5th, and rematch Tuesday, the day before the committee seeds this thing. That game could disrupt the apple cart. Stay tuned…
  6. Rutgers Prep (2-3) – The Argonauts were first hit by the late preseason news that Villanova signee Trey Patterson would be leaving the Somerset school to enroll early down on the Main Line. Then, they had not one, but two COVID stoppages, and are still trying to find their sea legs. They’re a tricky team to figure; they deserve to be in the top seven given the talent they have, but have three losses – yet they’re undefeated in league play at 2-0, with wins over Phillipsburg (2-6) and Franklin (2-3). Out of conference losses have come to state No. 1 Camden, Elizabeth and Hudson Catholic. The Argos are a tricky one, for sure; it’s hard to seed any tournament when a team has only played two games against their peers. They have one more game this week before the cutoff, Immaculata (5-3) on Tuesday.
  7. Ridge (6-2) – The Red Devils dropped out of the Central Jersey Sports Radio Top Ten last week, but they’re the next best option down the list in the Skyland Conference. They should edge out Immaculata for the final spot, though the two have similar records. But Ridge has beaten them twice, including Saturday afternoon. However, should the Spartans beat Rutgers Prep on Tuesday, look for some movement here in the bottom two.

Skyland Girls’ Top 8 Pod:

  1. Rutgers Prep (7-0) – You know Rutgers Prep is good. Really good. No. 23 in the nation good. (How have they gone unbeaten and dropped seven spots since the preseason? Whatever!) But have you seen them play? Did you see them put on a defensive, ball pressure clinic against No. 2 Franklin Saturday afternoon. (Click here for our postgame coverage.) Probably not, thanks to COVID, but man they were impressive. They’re the odds on favorite to win the whole damned thing, let alone get the top seed.
  2. Gill St. Bernard’s (6-0) – Unfortunately, Franklin gets Gill on Tuesday – at least it’s at home – the day before the seeding committee puts this whole thing together. But Gill has been solid, too. Too bad we don’t get to see them play Rutgers Prep this year. Then again, maybe we will. Barring any more snow or COVID cancellations, the Knights should roll into the postseason at 9-0 or better.
  3. Mount St. Mary (8-0) – I’m still not sure if these are projections, or my version of the seeding. The Skyland postseason has never been done before, although much of the same seeding principles remain. But I’m a big believer in undefeated teams being rewarded. Regardless of school size or division, to maintain the focus says a lot. That said, I go with Mary’s here, with a perfect record. You play the schedule you’re handed, and when you beat them all, you deserve the credit.
  4. Bound Brook (6-1) – The Crusaders have one blemish, a loss to undefeated Mount St. Mary’s, which is why the Lions are ahead of them here. You can’t argue with that. But you also can’t argue with how good Bound Brook is. They should be winning their sixth straight sectional championship this year, but they won’t get a crack at it. Though they’re tied in the division behind Belvidere, they did dismantle the County Seaters in what will have been their only matchup this year, 78-34 on Feb. 6th.
  5. Ridge (5-4) – The Red Devils sandwiched between Rutgers Prep and Phillipsburg in the Division. They split with the Stateliners (but the win was more recent) and have losses to the Argonauts, plus Watchung Hills, Gill St. Bernard’s and Rutgers Prep, all “quality losses.”
  6. Voorhees (6-2) – The Vikings are red hot at the right time, having won four in a row after splitting their first four. The Voos have done it with defense, holding four teams under 40 points this year, allowing 37, 30, 30 and 27 on their recent streak. They’re deserving of being in the top eight.
  7. Franklin (3-2) – The Warriors should be in the top eight, as they’re one of the better teams in the county; they just don’t look elite this year. Part of that is being hampered by COVID, sure; they played one game before having to pause all team-related activities. They did not look good against Rutgers Prep, and the Hillsborough loss was a head-scratcher, no disrespect to the Raiders. Franklin – at least the Franklin on the last four seasons, with two TOC titles to their credit – doesn’t lose those types of games. They could make a big statement Tuesday against Gill, though, as mentioned earlier.
  8. Hunterdon Central (6-2) – Their only losses are to Gill St. Bernard’s and Franklin, and the jury is still out on Franklin. Still, the Warriors get the nod over the Red Devils due to their head-to-head: Audrey Taylor’s squad beat them by six – just last Wednesday. They’re the last team in, for now. Central has Watchung Hills, a team they beat by eight earlier this season – on Tuesday, but I’m not sure a win there moves the needle much.
by Mike Pavlichko

Somerset and rest of Skyland Conference will unite for a unique postseason

Scroll down to head South Hunterdon Athletic Director Jason Miller – head of the Skyland Conference boys’ seeding committee – talk about this year’s Skyland Conference postseason format.

For many years, the Skyland Conference has played its basketball season, then broken up into two camps: Somerset County, and all the rest.

Somerset County holds its basketball tournament, with each round being played on a Saturday while the regular season continues during the week. The Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament does the same.

Compared to the Greater Middlesex Conference, they’re a pair of awkward, fumbling events, with no real continuity. Lose in the quarterfinals, and you still have a couple weeks of the regular season to play out. Lose in the GMCs and you have to stew for a week until the state tournament, maybe picking up a game with a team that got knocked out of another league event.

This year, however – just like everything else – will be different.

All 47 teams in the Skyland Conference – 24 on the girls’ side, 23 on the boys – will be in one tournament, with the girls and boys each being broken into three pods, to play off to champions.

The girls will feature three-eight team pods, with the top eight teams in the league in one, the middle three teams in the second, and the bottom three teams in the third. The boys – since all-girls Mount St. Mary doesn’t have a team – will have seven teams in its top pod, and eight in the other two.

There’s no segregation between Somerset and all the rest; everyone’s together.

Last season, Rutgers Prep’s boys and girls swept the Somerset County Tournament. In the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament, Hunterdon Central won the boys side, while Sparta won the girls’ tournament.

Click below to listen to South Hunterdon Athletic Director Jason Miller talk about the 2021 Skyland Conference postseason:

by Mike Pavlichko

OPINION: NJSIAA should allow season extension if snow delays postseason games

The NJSIAA has shown immense flexibility since the start of the school year, doing everything it can to give kids a chance to play the sports they love. That’s all anyone really asked.

A few districts chose not to play, and that’s their perogative. But the decision was left up to them. And that’s another sign of the “new” NJSIAA.

Even in this truncated 40-day high school basketball season, the NJSIAA loosened restrictions on how many games can be played in a week, becoming even more flexible than a typical non-COVID season by allowing two four-game weeks in the regular season. Generally, one such week is allowed.

The problem is, no one has been able to take advantage yet.

According to NJ.com’s standings on Feb. 17 at 10:30 pm, in the Greater Middlesex Conference, on Day 23 of the season – that’s three weeks and change for the math-challenged – only 27 of 61 teams have played eight or nine games, meaning no one is averaging three or more games per week.

On the boys’ side, 11 of 30 teams have played more than seven games, while 16 of 30 have done so on the girls’ side. Only 12 have played fewer than 6.

In the Skyland Conference, as we say, “fugghedaboutit!” Only 11 of the 41 teams overall have even played seven games. None have played more than seven.

In fact, on the boys’ side, 14 of the 24 teams have managed fewer than six games. That’s less than two games a week.

On the girls’ side, 10 of the 27 haven’t gotten to the six-game plateau.

This week, NJSIAA Assistant Director for Basketball Tony Maselli told Central Jersey Sports Radio that “at this point no extensions” are planned. The key words there are “at this point,” so anything is possible after we get more snow dumped on us tomorrow.

There are calls from some to extend the season, at least by a few days, due to all the snow that has fallen, affecting the schedule even more, like it really needed it, already looking like Swiss cheese due to COVID-19 stoppages all over the place. Bound Brook head coach Anthony Melesurgo has been among the most vocal on social media.

So here’s a good compromise – if it actually comes to that: the NJSIAA should extend the season, but only to allow postseason play to wrap up.

Look, there’s no state tournament, and I get that. Based on the widely-varying amounts of games played, massive amounts of games missed, lack of comparable schedules that make even county postseason scheduling an arduous task, not having the state tournament, with all the extended travel, was probably the way to go.

But let’s let the kids play something – anything – where a winner can call themselves champions. Championships are part of sports.

Otherwise, we’re just playing scrimmages.

So here’s what the NJSIAA should tell its 15 basketball leagues and conferences across the state: “You can’t push back your postseason to get in more regular season games, but if snow – key word: snow, not COVID – affects your postseason tournament, you can go past March 6 to finish it.”

Who knows next week’s forecast? Who knows tomorrow’s forecast? Remember that historic ice storm we were supposed to get Monday night? Exactly.

But let’s not take the chance that we could start yet another postseason and have to shut it down because of a date on the calendar.

We already did that last year when COVID hit. Let’s not yank another chance at a championship from these kids.

Let the postseason finish, regardless of Old Man Winter.

by Mike Pavlichko

Greater Middlesex Conference seeding co-chair DelAversano explains what the league’s “post-season pods” will look like

Scroll down to hear Spotswood Athletic Director and GMC seeding committee co-chair Mike DelAversano discuss this year’s unique postseason in the Greater Middlesex Conference.

The 2021 high school basketball season has been anything but typical, so it follows that the postseason will be just as unusual.

The GMC Tournament – one of the most exciting tournaments in the state with games that come fast and furious in a span of less than two weeks – won’t be held in a traditional fashion this year, due to the COVID-shortened season. Instead, teams will be paired into four-team pods.

But that doesn’t mean seeding won’t take place. In fact, similar rules will apply in terms of determining the top overall team, then working all the way down to the last team. The top four will go in the first pod, with the next four to go in the second pod, and so on.

Each pod will have the winners face each other in the second game, and the losing teams square off in their own matchup.

The seeding committee will be headed by South River Athletic Director Carl Buffalino – a past GMC President – and Spotswood Athletic Director Mike DelAversano.

Seeding the teams will be done just like in prior years, with the top four teams in each of the Red, White, Blue and Gold Divisions on the board. When the top team is picked from one of those divisions, the next best team goes on the board, with four teams on the board at all times. All division champions must be among the top 8 seeds. Teams must be pulled from their division in the order of their standings, unless there are ties, in which case other criteria can be used.

READ MORE: Edison boys’ on two-week COVID shutdown, but had planned to opt-out of GMC “pods” anyway

Teams must declare their intent to participate by the end of the day Wednesday. So far, two boys’ teams have opted out: Edison and JP Stevens. Edison Athletic Director Dave Sandaal says the two did not meet in the regular season and wanted to meet in the GMC pods, but league officials couldn’t guarantee a matchup. So they opted out, and will meet that week, on March 3rd.

Seeding will take place and the pairings will be announced on Monday, March 1, with “first-round” boys’ and girls’ games on Wednesday, March 3rd. “Second round” or “finals/consolations” would be on Friday, March 5th, with Saturday built in for a backup day in case of inclement weather.

SCHEDULE UPDATE: Central Jersey Sports Radio announces tentative postseason broadcast schedule – click here to see the full slate.

By NJSIAA rules, the last day of play for basketball is March 6. When asked via email by Central Jersey Sports Radio whether an extension to the season is under consideration, NJSIAA Assistant Director for Basketball Tony Maselli said, “at this point, no extensions.”

Click below to listen to Spotswood Athletic Director and GMC seeding co-chair Mike DelAversano talk about this year’s unique postseason event: