2025 Boys Basketball SCT Watch: Feb. 6 Update

Matt Manley|February 6, 2025|Last Updated February 6, 2025

We are down to the final three days prior to the Shore Conference Tournament cutoff and there is still a lot left to settle. With new rules for the Shore Conference Tournament seeding and qualification in place for 2025, we continue our weekly look at the boys SCT field as it currently stands through games played on Wednesday, Feb. 5. Just in case you need a refresher, here are the most relevant changes for the 2025 tournament.

Teams will be seeded based on the NJSIAA power points formula (power points divided by games played) as of games complete on Saturday, Feb. 8. The top 20 seeds will qualify for the Shore Conference Tournament. The remaining teams will be entered into the Shore Conference Coaches Cup.
In addition to the teams ranked within the top 20 in power points, teams that win a Shore Conference division championship that are not within the top 20 will be eligible to enter either the Shore Conference Tournament or the Coaches Cup. If such teams opt into the Shore Conference Tournament, said teams will be seeded according to their power points.
If two teams seeded consecutively have played against each other head-to-head, the team with the advantage in the head-to-head results will be seeded first. Head-to-head comparisons will start at the top of the seeding chart and work down to the bottom of the list. Teams can be dropped multiple spots if new teams listed directly below them own the head-to-head advantage.

The head-to-head provision has been confirmed by boys tournament director Nick Pizzulli. As of Thursday morning, every outright division championship is clinched and all eight division champions are currently projected to fall in the top 20 seeds, meaning there would not be any additional entrants beyond the top 20 should that set of circumstances remain after Saturday’s games.

What to Watch Before the Cutoff

Heading into Thursday, the top six teams are all highly likely to remain in the top six, but the order in which they fall is still very much up in the air. St. Rose has a massive power point opportunity Thursday vs. St. Peter’s Prep (16-3), while Christian Brothers Academy is playing a Freehold Township team that is guaranteed to drag down CBA’s power-point average, even in a Colts win. That means St. Rose could climb above CBA with a win over St. Peter’s, although the Purple Roses would likely need a Red Bank loss to Holmdel to jump all the way to second. Even if everything works out for St. Rose on Thursday night, the Roses would still have to beat La Lumiere (In.) on Saturday night to have a chance at the No. 1 seed — a tall order for a team that has won 27 straight games vs. Shore Conference opponents and beaten Manasquan twice this year.

Another area of the seeding to watch is the 11-through-13 range. Middletown North leads Freehold Boro by a few hundredths-of-a-point ahead for the 11 spot and with Southern owning a head-to-head win over Freehold, the Rams would jump the Colonials for the No. 12 position. That is significant because, as it currently stands, St. Rose looks ticketed for the No. 3-through-5 range, so one of Middletown North, Freehold Boro or Southern could be stuck with an earlier match-up against St. Rose than they deserve. With Freehold Boro scheduled to play winless Asbury Park on Saturday, the Colonials will need Middletown North to lose to Raritan on Thursday just to have a chance to climb ahead of the Lions for the No. 11 spot. The math on Central and Rumson-Fair Haven does not lend itself to either team climbing higher than No. 5 in most scenarios, so staying out of the No. 13 spot looks like the desirable outcome for Middletown North, Freehold Boro and Southern.

Finally, there is the dreaded bubble. With a win over Neptune on Wednesday, Ranney very likely punched its ticket to the SCT and currently sits in the No. 16 seed. Every team below the Panthers, however, has some work to do. Jackson Memorial has surged into the field and has not lost to a Shore Conference opponent outside of Manasquan or St. Rose since junior George Boley became eligible, but a loss to Howell on Friday would make for an anxious Saturday for the Jaguars.

Marlboro is also in an SCT spot through Wednesday despite a losing record and can effectively clinch a spot in the tournament by beating Manalapan on Thursday. A loss to Manalapan would leave the Mustangs vulnerable if Howell beats Jackson Memorial and if Freehold Township beats Lacey, although the current buffer between Marlboro and the five or six teams below them might be enough for the Mustangs to make the cut.

Neptune is the team currently in the field that is in the most danger of falling out. The Scarlet Fliers have to play Wall (16-3) on the road on Friday, then play a two-win Lakewood team Saturday in a game that will hurt Neptune’s power-point average. If Neptune can knock off Wall, the Scarlet Fliers are basically a lock to qualify. If not, they would need a lot to go right in order to sneak in.

Point Boro’s path to the SCT is fairly straightforward. A win over either St. Thomas Aquinas on Thursday or Brick Memorial on Friday will be enough as long as Neptune and Freehold Township don’t both pull off major upsets — Neptune over Wall and Freehold Township over CBA. A loss in both games leaves Point Boro vulnerable for a jump by Freehold Township, Howell and Henry Hudson.

Speaking of Freehold Township, Howell and Henry Hudson, that is the trio to watch over the next three days. None are currently in the field, but all three have paths to qualify, with both Howell and Henry Hudson scheduled to play a Pinelands team that carries about 35 power points if either can beat the Wildcats. Freehold Township, meanwhile, could lose to CBA and still get in given that CBA is worth about 13 points with a loss and a win over Lacey would net the Patriots about 25 — giving them a net gain to their average.

Here is the updated schedule for the next three days.

The Shore Conference Tournament and Coaches Cup schedules are as follows:

Shore Conference Tournament

First Round: Tuesday, Feb. 11
Round of 16: Thursday, Feb. 13
Quarterfinals (Girls): Saturday, Feb. 15 at Holmdel High School
Quarterfinals (Boys): Saturday, Feb. 15 at Middletown South High School
Semifinals (Girls): Tuesday, Feb. 18 at RWJ Barnabas Health Arena, Toms River
Semifinals (Boys): Wednesday, Feb. 19 at RWJ Barnabas Health Arena, Toms River
Championship: Friday, Feb. 21 at Monmouth University

Coaches Cup (All games hosted by the better seed)

First Round: Wednesday, Feb. 12
Round of 16: Friday, Feb. 14
Quarterfinals: Monday, Feb. 17
Semifinals: Wednesday, Feb. 19
Championship: Saturday, Feb. 22

2025 Boys Basketball Shore Conference Tournament Seeding through Wednesday, Feb. 5

SCT Seed	Team	Power Points	PP/Game	NJSIAA Section	Section Seed
1	Manasquan (17-2)	643.207	33.853	CJ2	1
2	CBA (15-3)	545.796	30.322	SJ Non-Pub A	4
3	Red Bank (17-3)	601.1	30.055	CJ3	2
4	St. Rose (15-5)	587.64	29.382	SJ Non-Pub B	1
5	Central (19-2)	562.59	26.79	SJ4	3
6	Rumson-FH (13-5)	476.478	26.471	CJ2	2
7	Holmdel (11-6)	418.761	24.633	CJ2	3
8	Colts Neck (10-6)	380.736	23.796	CJ3	4
9	Wall (16-3)	441.541	23.239	CJ2	5
10	Red Bank Catholic (11-9)	430.62	21.531	SJ Non-Pub A	7
11	Middletown North (15-6)	440.328	20.968	CJ3	6
12	Southern (15-4)*	386.954	20.366	SJ4	8
13	Freehold Boro (15-6)*	439.53	20.93	CJ3	7
14	Point Beach (14-6)	392.84	19.642	CJ1	4
15	Barnegat (14-6)	391.88	19.594	SJ2	8
16	Ranney (9-8)	324.955	19.115	SJ Non-Pub B	8
17	Jackson Memorial (9-11)	351.14	17.557	CJ3	10
18	Marlboro (8-11)	327.978	17.262	CJ4	9
19	Neptune (11-7)	302.238	16.791	CJ3	11
20	Point Boro (10-9)	314.146	16.534	CJ2	10
	Freehold Twp. (8-9)	280.687	16.511	CJ4	10
	Howell (9-10)	309.51	16.29	SJ4	12
	Henry Hudson (14-6)	321.56	16.078	CJ1	6
	Donovan Cath. (10-10)	318.4	15.92	SJ Non-Pub A	13
	Middletown South (8-11)	296.248	15.592	CJ3	13
	Pinelands (10-7)	262.905	15.465	SJ3	11
	Keyport (14-5)	289.864	15.256	CJ1	10
	Brick Memorial (8-13)	313.751	15.131	CJ3	14
	St. John Vianney (6-14)	300.28	15.014	SJ Non-Pub A	14
	Shore (15-4)	284.791	14.989	CJ1	12
	Raritan (8-12)	294.92	14.746	CJ2	13
	Manalapan (7-11)	261.774	14.543	CJ4	12
	New Egypt (7-10)	236.249	13.897	SJ1	10
	Matawan (7-13)	273.6	13.68	CJ3	15
	Lacey (7-11)	238.392	13.244	SJ3	15
	Toms River North (6-14)	248.42	12.421	SJ4	19
	Toms River East (7-12)*	225.055	11.845	SJ3	17
	Ocean (6-14)*	244.68	12.234	CJ2	16
	Brick (7-13)	229.32	11.466	CJ3	18
	Jackson Liberty (6-12)	185.976	10.332	CJ2	18
	Toms River South (3-17)	191.42	9.571	SJ3	20
	Long Branch (6-14)	190.48	9.524	CJ4	19
	Manchester (3-16)	175.693	9.247	SJ2	19
	Keansburg (6-12)	165.618	9.201	CJ1	22
	Monmouth (4-14)	147.222	8.179	CJ2	20
	Lakewood (2-15)	138.754	8.162	CJ3	20
	Asbury Park (0-16)	87.392	5.462	CJ1	29

*Head-to-Head

Southern owns the head-to-head advantage over Freehold Boro for the No. 12 seed.
Toms River East owns the head-to-head advantage over the Coaches Cup No. 17 seed.

Shore Conference Tournament projected pairings through Wednesday, Feb. 5

Opening Round

(20) Point Boro at (13) Freehold Boro

(19) Neptune at (14) Point Beach

(18) Marlboro at (15) Barnegat

(17) Jackson Memorial at (16) Ranney

Round of 16

(17) Jackson Memorial/(16) Ranney winner at (1) Manasquan

(18) Marlboro/(15) Barnegat winner at (2) CBA

(19) Neptune/(14) Point Beach winner at (3) Red Bank

(20) Point Boro/(13) Freehold Boro winner at (4) St. Rose

(12) Southern at (5) Central