Beyond the Scoresheet

Suggested seedings, 2014

February 18, 2014 on 2:43 am | In Uncategorized | Comments Off on Suggested seedings, 2014

Every year, I try to figure out how teams should be seeded in the NJSIAA state tournaments. I do everything I can to base the seedings on conclusions drawn logically from team results. The real seeding committee is meeting Tuesday afternoon, and we will probably get real-time updates as the day goes on. Remember that only results through Wednesday, February 12, may be considered in the seeding process.

A reminder: These are how I think the teams should be seeded, not how I think they will actually be placed. I am including several potential at-large teams, although I do not have any information about which teams will be selected. When possible, I tried to avoid likely intra-league matchups, but it has to happen occasionally. Read on for the full lists.

Post comments and suggestions below, and please use logic based in results or standings if you want to sway my opinion!

PRIVATE – tougher than usual to seed, especially between the bottom 6 Gordon Conference teams and the rest of the state
1. Delbarton – Won state’s top division, Gordon American
2.Don Bosco Prep – Split season series with Delbarton and won second game but finished 1-2 vs. Gordon National teams down the stretch
3. CBA – Posted 0-1-3 record against top two teams, lost to Howell in January
4. Morristown-Beard – 5-1 record vs. private schools (only loss to Delbarton), including wins vs. SPP, PDS
5. St. Peter’s Prep – SPP had edge vs. PJ in regular-season series at cutoff date, so two recent losses don’t count
6. Pope John – Went 1-0-1 vs. SA, beat Notre Dame
7. St. Augustine Prep – Could be seeded as high as 4th but went 0-1-1 vs. PJ, lost to PDS (which MB beat)
8. Red Bank Catholic – December loss to SPP by 9-1 margin hurts them; beat SJMet head-to-head
9. St. Joseph Metuchen – 1-1 vs. ND/MKA but had results vs. top teams (tied Delbarton) to get edge, tied MK
10. Bergen Catholic – Beat MKA, PC and upset Delbarton
11. Notre Dame – 1-1 vs. SJMet/MKA, wins vs. BE, GC, loss vs. SHP
12. Montclair Kimberley – 1-1 vs. SJMet/ND, tied PJ but lost to MK, Liv, VGR
13. Gloucester Catholic – beat SHP head-to-head, lost to ND
14. St. Rose – lost to Bridgewater 2-1, while SHP lost to Westfield 4-1
15. Seton Hall Prep – lost to GC head-to-head, overshadowing win over ND
16. Paramus Catholic – beat MK and went 2-0 vs. SJMont but lost 4 games in Big North
17. Bishop Eustace – Only 1 win prior to qualifying deadline
18. St. Joseph Montvale – Could have been 17 but I didn’t want to pair them with PC again … 0-2 vs. PC, lost to Park
19. Pingry – lost to SHP
20. Monsignor Donovan – nothing stands out to place them higher (upset of Freehold Twp came after deadline)

PUBLIC A – the  most wide-open of the tournaments; everything after 7 is pretty much a crapshoot
1. Randolph – 3rd place in Mennen Division, 2-0 vs. MK, beat Sum
2. Bridgewater-Raritan – tied Westfield but gets edge via 7-2 win over Cranford; also beat MidN and StR, lost to PPB, Rmsy
3. Westfield – tied BR but went 1-0-1 vs. Cra and win was by 4-3; also beat MidN, SHP and tied Cha
4. Morris Knolls – has to be an at-large selection – beat Sum, MKA and tied RBC, SJMet but lost to Men
5. Ridge – Close call vs. MK – although Rid tied Men, only tied Sum (MK win) and lost to SJMet (MK tie)
6. Livingston – beat MKA in league play, tied FrT, beat Rbville head-to-head, lost to StR 2-3
7. Robbinsville / Allentown – lost to Liv, GR, Cra but tied Cha and beat BM
8. Jackson Memorial – Got edge over FrT based on better result (W) vs. Pri; also beat OB
9. Freehold Township – tied Liv, hurt by losses to Pri, Peq
10. Howell – landmark win against CBA hurt by 0-4 record vs. FrT, MidN
11. Southern Regional – didn’t play a single game against non-Shore team and therefore difficult to place. Lost to StR in OT (Liv lost by 1 gl) so could end up higher.
12. Old Bridge – beat SJMet to tie for GMC title, also beat JkLib and Wall, tied Mlpn but lost to JkMem, MidS, and Wood
13. Ridgewood – One of the hardest teams to place because of weak division. Best win vs. PC.
14. Ocean Township / Shore Regional – Head-to-head loss to OB and loss to SB overshadowed win over JkMem
15. Manalapan – 0-2 vs. MidS in lg play, tied OB in tournament, beat HV
16. Hunterdon Central – Beat HV, lost to MidN
17. Toms River East – Another with 0 games outside the Shore Conference – tied Manalapan in inter-division play.
18. Montgomery – Beat Cra and tied RBC but finished 6th to HntC’s 3rd in league play; also lost to How, OB, and HV
19. Park Regional – Best win SJMont, lost to Peq
20. WWPS – tied Pri but lost to Wall, Mlpn
21. River Dell / Westwood – tied Nut, which finished ahead of Liv, but lost to Liv and VGR head-to-head
22. Lawrence / Ewing – Tied with WWPS for division title and split season series; only played teams from CVC and Pennsylvania
23. Montclair – tied Ten, lost to both Lak and OT, earning placement below RD
24. Fair Lawn – tied PC in lg play but lost to both WE and Ten
25. Paramus / Lyndhurst – Swept OT but split with NH and PkV in lg play, no strong non-lg wins
26. Newton / Lenape Valley – best non-lg win was Spa; lost to Mclr head-to-head
27. Colonia / JFK – 1-0-1 vs. Bay, split with John
28. High Point / Wallkill Valley – tied John, beat Bay
29. Bayonne – lost to Col, HPt head-to-head

PUBLIC B – Probably the easiest to seed and the most intriguing from 1-31
1. Chatham – Unbeaten vs. public schools, tied West, Rbville
2. Ramsey – Only public loss vs. Ran, which finished behind Cha
3. Glen Rock – lost to Rmsy, beat both Ran and Mor head-to-head
4. Morristown – 4th in Mennen Div, beat BC, SJMet, Sum and tied PDS and MKA
5. Brick Township – beat PPB, lost to Sum, went 1-1-1 at Ice Vault w/ weakened squad
6. Point Pleasant Borough – beat BR, Men, JkMem, Nut but split with RFH and lost to Bri
7. West Morris Mendham – beat Kin, MK, HV and tied Rid but lost to PPB
8. Kinnelon – Finished just behind Mor in Mennen, beat WayH, tied Rox
9. Middletown North – 2-0 vs. rival MidS to earn nod over Summit; also beat RFH, Wall, while loss to West was in holiday tourney
10. Rumson-Fair Haven – beat MidS, split with PPB, went 1-0-1 vs. Ocn and tied RBC – could be higher.
11. Middletown South – could be an at-large selection – beat Sum, OB in February (why I think they get in) but went 0-1-1 vs. WatH earlier in year
12. Summit – Ranked below MidN based on loss to MidS late in year cost despite 2-0 record vs. West, very difficult schedule. Could easily be higher.
13. Roxbury – beat Mor, Nut, Rmpo and tied Kin; lost to Sum head-to-head
14. Wayne Hills – Things start to get trickier here. Key here was win over Rwd
15. Nutley – tied RD, which finished behind Rwd, but finished 2nd in Essex County
16. Verona / Glen Ridge – Finished just behind Nut, tied Cra, beat Mtville, lost to StR
17. Pequannock – beat FrT, Mad, Park but lost to NH
18. Montville – Only loss to VGR and beat Cra head-to-head;
19. Cranford – Tied VGR and beat Rbville, Pri
20. Princeton – beat FrT and tied Wall but lost to Cra
21. Hopewell Valley – Could have gone in a few spots with Ws over Nut, Mtgry but a tie with SPF and a loss to HntC
22. Madison – Should stay close to Mtville (teams tied twice) and behind Pequannock
23. West Morris Central – beat MtO head-to-head but lost to Mtville
24. Indian Hills – Finished two points behind Mah in Big North Green but won season series 1-0-1 and beat MtO head-to-head, tied Bri, played tougher schedule
25. Wall – Tied Pri, so in this range, but not a lot of other strong results (best non-lg win was WWPS)
26. Mount Olive – beat Mah, lost to IH, should land in midst of Big North Green teams
27. Mahwah – Finished 3rd in Big North Green but lost series with IH
28. Lakeland – Finished 4th in Big North Green, beat Ten
29. West Milford – Finished T-5th in Big North Green with great second half but 0-1-1 vs. Mah
30. Tenafly – head-to-head loss to Lak drops them here; also lost to Spa
31. Woodbridge – Win over Old Bridge only real calling card