GMC Hoops Top Ten—March 8, 2020

Bob Turco in Aquinas Huddle

South Brunswick Moves Up to No. 2 While Edison and Colonia Move Into Top 5

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ—With the GMC Boys Tournament well beyond us, and on the eve of the 2020 NJSIAA sectional finals, GMC Hoops decided to sit down and post its latest top ten to reflect the shakedown that has taken place within the GMC over the past month.

Although it was eliminated in its first round playoff game versus CBA earlier this week, St. Thomas Aquinas remains in the top spot by virtue of winning its first Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament in 28 years, and 3rd overall. South Brunswick, which defeated top seeded and four time defending champion, St. Joseph’s in the semifinals, and has since put together a run to the Central Jersey Group 4 Championship Game, has rocketed up to No. 2 in the latest poll.

St. Joseph’s, which has advanced to the Non-Public A South Semifinals, where it will play at 2nd seeded Camden Catholic on Monday, slipped to No. 3 in the latest poll. Edison and Colonia move into the top five, where they had been earlier in the season. The Eagles reached the final four of a county/conference tournament for the first time since 1966, and broke the record for number of wins in a season with 19 as well as gained a share of the White Division title.

Meanwhile, Colonia, which played St. Thomas Aquinas perhaps the toughest of any GMC team the Trojans played in the 2020 GMCT, has put together a run in the North Jersey Section 2 Group 3 State Tournament including wins at Carteret and top seeded and last year’s finalist, West Morris Central. The Patriots defeated the Wolfpack in last year’s championship game. Carteret, which defeated New Brunswick in a state tourney tune-up game two weeks ago, moves down to 6th while New Brunswick, which lost to Marlboro in the CJ Group 4 semifinals, slipped to 7th.

Rounding out the latest GMC Hoops Top Ten is Dunellen, which reached the GMCT Quarterfinals for the first time in 25 years before losing to top seeded St. Joseph’s, and is the only top seeded GMC team in the state tourney field. The Destroyers have also reached the North Jersey Section 2 Group 1 finals for the first time ever, and will host University of Newark in the Championship Game on Monday night. North Brunswick, which advanced to the CJ Group 4 Quarterfinals before losing to Marlboro, and Perth Amboy, which lost its first round North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 playoff game against Union, round out the Top 10.

Old Bridge and Piscataway moved up into the Top 17 based upon their performance in the GMCT. The Knights, which only had five wins going into the tournament, reached the Elite Eight by virtue of their wins over Middlesex (77-70 in the Preliminary Round, and New Brunswick (65-61) in the Round of 16 before bowing out to Edison (77-62) in the Quarterfinals. Piscataway defeated Timothy Christian (71-63) in the Preliminary Round. Thanks to its run in Central Jersey Group 1, Middlesex moves into the Top 15.

View the latest GMC Hoops Top Ten:

GMC Hoops Top Ten—March 8, 2020

  1. St. Thomas Aquinas (23-5)
  2. South Brunswick (23-5)
  3. St. Joseph’s (19-8)
  4. Edison (19-7)
  5. Colonia (21-6)
  6. Carteret (20-8)
  7. New Brunswick (20-8)
  8. Dunellen (24-4)
  9. North Brunswick (14-12)
  10. Perth Amboy (12-10)

Other teams considered: 11. East Brunswick (11-14), 12. Monroe (15-12), 13. Old Bridge (7-17), 14. Wardlaw-Hartridge (18-7), 15. Middlesex (16-12), 16. South Plainfield (14-13), 17. Piscataway (6-18), 18. Timothy Christian (15-10), 19. Spotswood (12-15), 20. J.F. Kennedy (10-12), and 21. Perth Amboy Tech (14-12).