Our annual ride through the NJSIAA boys basketball brackets begins Feb. 28, with dozens of schools harboring hopes of capturing a sectional title. Or, better still, winning the Tournament of Champions on March 21 at East Rutherford's Izod Center.
Before then, we will surely get to see fresh Cinderella stories written, new champions crowned … and of course, there is the delicious (and seemingly inevitable) possibility of seeing St. Patrick and St. Anthony, the top two teams in the
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 boys basketball rankings presented by the Army National Guard, tip off in the North Non-Public B boys basketball final.
Here is our breakdown of how we seeing this year's tournament playing out, from the sectionals all the way through the TOC. (Note: With our dark horses, we are only picking squads seeded outside of the top four.)
MaxPreps New Jersey boys basketball Freeman RankingsGROUP 1Favorites: It is hard to go against the top seeds in the North 1 with
Wood-Ridge, Central (Bound Brook), and South (Pitman) pods, although at least one will not play for a sectional championship.
University (Newark) looks the best of the North 2 lot despite being seeded third.
Dark Horses: Bloomfield Tech (No. 10, North 2),
Bogota (No. 6, North 1),
Paulsboro (No. 5, South),
Point Pleasant Beach (No. 8, Central),
Wallington (No. 4, North 1).
Best Bracket: In North 1, high-scoring Wood-Ridge already lost to No. 3
Cresskill and No. 4 Wallington, but Wallington was felled by No. 10
Becton (East Rutherford) while Cresskill was upended by No. 6 Bogota and No. 12
Leonia during the regular season.
Players to Watch: Jack Cole, New Providence; Dylan Colgate and
Luke Dickson, Pitman; Maurice Dickerson, Asbury Park; Keith Foster and Deven Richardson, University;
Justin Grant, Dayton;
Desmond Hubert, New Egypt;
Jason Hutzler, Lindenwold;
Louis Pena, Bogota;
Peter Polan, Wallington;
Jarelle Reischel, Point Pleasant Beach;
Lance Rivera, Bound Brook.
Fearless Forecast: In North 1, No. 4 Wallington looks to add to its fall championships in boys soccer and football by outlasting No. 6 Bogota. University will repeat in North 2 over No. 4 Newark Tech; In the Central bracket, we like No. 8 Point Pleasant Boro to upend Bound Brook in the second round before falling to Hubert-led New Egypt, which will then face South champion Pitman.
Final Thought: Pitman over University.
GROUP 2Favorites: No. 1 seeds
Pascack Hills (Montvale) and
Central (Newark) appear to have the easiest paths to the state semifinals through the North 1 and 2 brackets, respectively, while the top two teams in both the Central (
Raritan (Hazlet) and
Ewing (Trenton)) and South (
Lakewood and
Middle Township (Cape May Court House)) are co-favorites.
Dark Horses: Haddonfield (No. 6, South),
Hopatcong (No. 5, North 1),
Manchester Regional (Haledon) (No. 6, North 1),
Newark Tech (No. 10, North 2),
Pleasantville (No. 12, South),
Rutherford (No. 5, North 2).
Best Bracket: Arguably the top two teams in Group 2 are seemingly destined to play in the South, where Lakewood and Middle Township are the two top seeds. No. 3
Cinnaminson and No. 4
Collingswood appear to be formidable roadblocks, while No. 5
Medford Tech is playing solid ball and No. 12 Pleasantville owns a win over Middle Township. The Medford Tech-Pleasantville victor could reach the semifinals and test Lakewood.
Players to Watch: Paul Antonucci,
Roselle Park; David Azoroh, Darryl Griffin and Dontae' Jones, Ewing;
Michael Aaman, Raritan;
Patrick Cole and
Ramon Johnson, Central;
Max DiLeo, Cinnaminson;
Leron Dillard, Rutherford;
Garrett Kerr, Middle Township;
Ben Kohle,
Pequannock (Pompton Plains);
Khalid Muhammad,
Orange; Greg LoPotro,
Pompton Lakes;
Matt Tobin, Hopatcong; Karon Waller, Collingswood;
Anthony Walker, Lakewood.
Fearless Forecast: Lakewood begins its march to the TOC by edging Middle Township before toppling Ewing, whose trio of Azoroh, Griffin and Jones give them an edge over a Raritan team that hung tough with Group 4 juggernaut Linden. Central will win North 2 while ending Newark Tech's spirited run, while we like Pascack Hills' depth over Manchester Regional pluckiness in North 1.
Final Thought: Lakewood over Central.
GROUP 3Favorites: Plainfield is eighth in our state rankings, but is No. 8 in North 2 because the brackets are seeded according to won-loss records and without taking into account challenging schedules.
Kingsway (Woolwich Township) (No. 1, South) and
Teaneck (No. 2, North 1) appear without peer in their pods, while No. 2
Neptune holds an edge over No. 1
Colts Neck in the Central bracket after beating the Cougars twice.
Dark Horses: Delsea (Franklinville) (No. 13, South),
Freehold Boro (No. 7, Central),
Irvington (No. 12, North 2),
Passaic Valley (Little Falls) (No. 8, North 1),
Scotch Plains-Fanwood (No. 7, North 2),
Wayne Valley (No. 12, North 1).
Best Bracket: If you want to see upheaval, North 1 could see as many as four double-digit upsets in the first round including No. 16
Wayne Hills over No. 1
Tenafly. Together, the Wayne schools could blow up the top half of the bracket. Conversely, Teaneck might not get tested until the semifinals where a potential tilt against No. 3
Pascack Valley (Hillsdale) could beckon.
Players to Watch: Eric Buschbaum, Pascack Valley;
Kasim Chandler, East Side;
Jaquan Cook, New Brunswick; Cedric Elleby, Delsea;
Rondell Gilmore-Lane, Kingway; C.J. Gray, Colonia; Sekou Harris and Justin Sears, Plainfield; Joel Hernandez and Chris Jones, Teaneck; Alex Irvin, Northern Burlington;
Kyle Janeczek, Wall Township;
Nate Nickens, Manchester Township;
Charles Oliver, Scotch Plains-Fanwood; Chris Orozco, Tenafly; Hunter Wysocki, Colts Neck.
Fearless Forecast: Kingsway is the best of a largely sub.-500 South field and will clinch its crown against No. 2 Manchester Township. Awaiting the Dragons will be Central champion Neptune after the Scarlet Fliers shake off an early exit in the Shore Conference Tournament to defeat Colts Neck. Teaneck will take North 1 over defending sectional champ and fourth-seeded Northern Valley (Old Tappan), while Plainfield will stave off East Side in North 2 and earn its second-straight sectional title.
Final Thought: Plainfield over Kingsway.
GROUP 4Favorites: None of the top seeds rates the advantage in these four pods.
Eastside (Paterson) is No. 8 in North 1, but is sizzling after struggling early. We consider No. 2 lucky as
Linden (North 2),
East Brunswick (Central) and
Cherry Hill East (South) represent the best of their respective competition.
Dark Horses: Bridgewater-Raritan (No. 12, North 2),
Hackensack (No. 5, North 1),
Jackson Memorial (Jackson Township) (No. 5, Central),
Kennedy (Paterson) (No. 10, North 1),
Rancocas Valley (Mt. Holly) (No. 10, Central),
Trenton Central (No. 6, Central),
Union (No. 7, North 2),
Winslow Township (Atco) (No. 5, South).
Best Bracket: Expect to see upsets galore, according to seeds, in North 1 starting in the opening round with No. 13
North Bergen over No. 4
Roxbury (Succasunna), before No. 8 Eastside topples top-seeded
Livingston and No. 10 Kennedy overcomes two losses by a combined eight points against No. 2
Passaic County Tech (Wayne). Between Paterson schools Eastside and Kennedy, as well as No. 5 Hackensack, this is a bracket for late-season bloomers.
Players to Watch: Jamar Chavous and Austin Little, Columbia; Elijah Hodge,
J.R. Pringley and Rodney Sanders, Linden;
Dawan Lighty and
Jhamir White, Kennedy; Evan Klimchak, Hunterdon Central; Justin Knight, Oakcrest; Niko Kotoulas, Morris Knolls;
Chris Santo, Cherry Hill East;
Mike Summerer and
Robert Ukawuba, East Brunswick;
Stacey Upshaw-Goree, Winslow Township.
Fearless Forecast: In North 1, Eastside will overcome Kennedy in the rivals' fourth meeting before succumbing to Linden, which will take North 2 over a tough
Columbia (Maplewood) squad. Seeded third in the South, Oakcrest handed
St. Augustine Prep (Richland) its first loss and will slide past Santo and Cherry Hill East in the semifinals, topple top-seeded
Williamstown in the sectional final and eliminate Central champion East Brunswick, which will edge top-seeded Middletown North.
Final Thought: Linden over Oakcrest.
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