NJSIAA Central Jersey Tournaments: What we’ve seen so far

We’re well into the thick of things when it comes to the postseason picture in New Jersey. The NJSIAA tournaments are underway and some have even reached the semifinals so far. With so much competition going on, including 16 different brackets amongst Groups 1-4 from South Jersey to North Jersey, there’s also so much to cover. We decided to take a closer look at what’s gone on so far within the four Central Jersey brackets. <strong>There have been just three upsets so far amongst all four brackets.</strong> The postseason often brings with it chaos, especially when you watch March Madness going on. Upsets are the norm when it comes to the playoffs, but for what it’s worth in Central Jersey, the higher seeds have held their ground. Just three upsets have taken place between the first and second rounds of play. No. 13 seeded Keansburg had the biggest upset of the bunch in the first round, upsetting No. 4 Somerset Tech. In that same Group 1 bracket, No. 7 seeded Burlington City is in the semifinals after defeating No. 2 seeded Woodbridge Academy in the second round. <strong>A number of games have been decided by single-digits.</strong> It seems that blowout victories have been the norm throughout Central Jersey as nine games through the four brackets thus far have been 10+ games or less. That number is much lower than expected considering the great competition that exists within the region. It’s also shown that teams have come out and straight-up dominated from the opening tip and haven’t looked back in their respective games. This is something to watch as nearly all of the semifinal matchups have been determined. <strong>There is some serious firepower amongst some of the lower-seeded teams.</strong> When looking at the brackets as a whole, it’s quite surprising to see the sheer number of teams that look to have been under-seeded going in. The four top seeds in the tournament have all advanced with relatively no issues, but looking at some of the lower-seeded teams, Shore, Holmdel and Monroe are a few stand-outs. All three are No. 3 seeds or lower, with Shore, the No. 5 seed in the Group 1 bracket, having reached the semifinals. It’s simple, whoever has the hot hand is going to make a run, so keep an eye out for those lower seeds. <strong>Holmdel and Manasquan headline the Group 2 semifinal matchups</strong> We’ve talked about these two programs and gotten to watch them this season, and now, top-seeded Manasquan and No. 4 seeded Holmdel will face off in the semis of the Group 2 bracket in Central Jersey. What a matchup this is going to be between two teams that are averaging 65.0 PPG and 71.5 PPG, respectively, through the first two games of the tourney. Some names to watch on both sides include [player_tooltip player_id="159084" first="Mary" last="Donnelly"] and [player_tooltip player_id="155468" first="Brooke" last="Hollawell"] for Manasquan and Alex Loucopoulos and Katherine Martini for Holmdel. <strong>Colonia is currently riding a historic postseason run</strong> After a 22-4 regular season and a perfect 15-0 record in Greater Middlesex Conference play, Colonia entered the Group 3 bracket in Central Jersey as the No. 2 seed. This program has had very little postseason success this millennium, not recording a playoff win in nearly 14 years, including all of the 2010s. However, Colonia has a star-studded cast of players, starting with [player_tooltip player_id="155450" first="Mattison" last="Chiera"] and [player_tooltip player_id="325182" first="Taylor" last="Derkack"] and they’re currently one win away from reaching the Central Jersey Group 3 championship game. <strong>Burlington City has reached the semis for the first time in eight seasons</strong> Burlington City came into the postseason with an 11-12 record, having lost four-straight games overall. However, this team has caught fire in the playoffs, winning its first two games to reach the semifinals for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Blue Devils have had a number of key contributors, not just one. Janae Barnes, Aneesa Artis, Jasmine George and Da’Shirah Knight have all scored in double-figures for this team in at least one of the two tournament games so far. South Hunterdon is a tough task for the No. 7 seed, but Burlington City might have the magic to reach the finals.