The NJSIAA boys basketball state tournament is getting closer every day with the cut-off for power point totals on Saturday (Feb. 14) and the seeding meeting set for Tuesday (Feb. 17) with the start of first-round action for the public schools commencing on Tuesday, Feb. 24, for Groups 2 and 4, and Wednesday, Feb. 5, for Groups 1 and 3.
Essex County is likely to have No. 1 seeds in two of the four North 2 sections, and in North 1, Group 4. Looking at North 2, Group 1, it as populated by Essex teams as any section with six of the top eight seeds currently occupied by teams from the county, including Shabazz (22-0) at No. 1, Arts (15-6) at No. 2, Glen Ridge (15-8) at No. 3 and Newark Tech (12-10) at No. 4.
North 2, Group 2 is headed by Newark Collegiate (16-6) while its Super Essex Conference-Liberty Division rival Caldwell (15-5) is currently at No. 6, but hopes to move up in the next couple of days if it can pick up a victory or two in independent games it picked up for Friday and Saturday.
Millburn (19-4), which is having a superb season, is currently No. 3 in North 2, Group 3, close behind No. 1 Colonia (15-8) and 2-Chatham, which added to its power point total with a big win over Montville Thursday night. Coach Pat Leonardis’ Millers, who advanced to a North 2, Group 3 state sectional semifinal at Colonia two seasons ago, might make some major noise in its quest to capture a North 2, Group 3 title this season in what could be a deep and wide-open section.
North 2, Group 4 is dominated by Union County schools who line up behind 1-Piscataway (18-6) with Union (18-4) at No. 2, a surging Linden (15-8 at No. 3, defending Group 4 state champion Plainfield (18-4) at No. 4 and Elizabeth (14-9) at No. 7. Columbia (16-8) is an Essex County team which hopes to be in the mix in a very strong section while currently standing a s the No. 9 seed.
Over in North 1, Group 4, a crowded and potentially wide-open section could wind up being headed by 1-Montclair (16-8), which was still in top spot after a 55-44 home-standing Super Essex Conference- Colonial Diviison homestanding defeat to local rival Bloomfield (15-8) on Thursday night. (Hackensack (15-8) is right behind Montclair at No. 2.
Lining up behind the Mounties and Comets in N1G4 could be 3-East Orange Campus (12-12), 4-Paterson Eastside (18-4), 5- Union City (15-8), 6-Morristown (16-9), 7-Mount Olive (15-8), 8-Bloomfield, which moved up two slots with its win at Montclair; 9-Ridgewood (13-7), 10-Livingston (12-8) and 11-West Orange (13-10).
Non-Public, North A, which has its first-round action on Thursday, Feb. 26, features three dynamic teams headed by top-seeded Bergen Catholic (21-3) and No. 2 Seton Hall Prep (15-6). St. Benedict’s (16-6) is listed as second in power points but is ineligible for the state tourney after being disqualified for having at least three players leave the bench area during an SEC-American Division contest at Arts back on Jan. 8.
The Gray Bees and Pirates could wind up meeting for a third time in the Essex County Tournament final on Feb. 21 at West Orange if each survives its semifinal matchup on Saturday in West Orange's Tarnoff Gymnasium where St. Benedict's faces third-seeded Arts at 3 p.m. and SHP meets fourth-seeded Shabazz at 5 p.m. They’ve already split their two Super Essex Conference-American Division regular season meetings. SHP won the ECT title last year and St. Benedict’s emerged victorious in 2024.
The Non-Public, South A bracket will also be stocked with powerhouse teams at the top with 1-Paul VI (20-3), 2-St. Peter's Prep (20-3) and 3-Christian Brothers Academy (19-3), In many past seasons, the Marauders, who own a regular season win over SHP, have frequently been situated in North A but this season make South A that much stronger.
