NJ State Tournament Recap Through Sectional Semfinals/Picks for Today's Games

The state tournament is down to 48 teams. There are 8 teams remaining in each group so 8*6=48. After today the field is cut to 24 and after Tuesday, the field is cut down to the final 12 who will travel to Toms River to play for their group championship. Here is the tournament summary so far.

• Mercer County still has 4 teams alive which is a pretty impressive number considering how small their county is and generally looked down upon when it comes to some sports. One will be knocked out today as Hopewell Valley and W Windsor North are playing for the sectional title. Robbinsville also has a great shot to win a sectional today while Notre Dame will likely have their hands full against St. Joe's Metuchen.
• There's only 5 Shore Conference teams remaining and one of those will be knocked out today as Jackson is playing Manalapan. Henry Hudson and Red Bank Catholic will have their hands full today playing tough Robbinsville and Bishop Eustace teams. Although, St. Rose is an underdog I like their chances today to get a win down at Holy Cross and they are seemingly the team right now along with the Jackson/Manalapan winner who looks like they have the best chance to walk away from this tournament with a title.
• Butler High School is trying their best to imitate their collegiate name by having a Cinderella run of their own as a 15 seed. They've somehow managed to outscore their competition 45-1 through the first 3 games. Northern Highlands is still alive too as a 16 seed and they're playing the 11 so regardless, an improbable team is going to win the title in North I, Group III.
• South Jersey continues to be pretty dominant in baseball having teams from all over still alive which is really showcasing how good South Jersey baseball is. New Egypt, Pitman, Buena, Audubon, Highland Regional, Ocean City, Washington Township, Lenape, St. Joe's Metuchen, Notre Dame, Red Bank Catholic, Bishop Eustace, Holy Cross, St. Rose, Gloucester Catholic and Sacred Heart are all still in it.
• The best games today will probably be:
  2) West Essex vs. 1) Hackettstown
  5) Morristown vs. 3) Cranford
  6) W Windsor North vs. 4) Hopewell Valley
  6) Manalapan vs. 5) Jackson Memorial
  5) Pope John XXIII vs. 1) Immaculata
  6) Seton Hall Prep vs. 2) Don Bosco
  4) Notre Dame vs. 1) St. Joe's Metuchen
  3) Red Bank Catholic vs. 2) Bishop Eustace
  3) Gloucester Catholic vs. 2) Sacred Heart

Here are my records going into today.

30-23 in Group I games
34-21 in Group II games
30-26 in Group III games
33-23 in Group IV games
14-5 in Non-Public A games
9-4 in Non -Public B games
150-102 Overall

Now onto my picks for today's sectional championships and the Non-Public sectional semifinals games.

North I, Group I
#4 Emerson Boro over #15 Butler

North II, Group I
#1 Whippany Park over #2 High Tech

Central, Group I
#1 Robbinsville over #7 Henry Hudson

South, Group I
#4 New Egypt over #3 Pitman

North I, Group II
#7 Ramsey over #1 North Warren

North II, Group II
#2 West Essex over #1 Hackettstown

Central, Group II
#11 Spotswood over #4 Governor Livingston

South, Group II
#4 Buena over #3 Audubon

North I, Group III
#11 Lakeland over #16 Northern Highlands

North II, Group III
#3 Cranford over #5 Morristown

Central, Group III
#4 Hopewell Valley over #6 W Windsor Noth

South, Group III
#3 Ocean City over #1 Highland Regional

North I, Group IV
#1 Randolph over #2 Livingston

North II, Group IV
#2 Bridgewater-Raritan over #13 Edison

Central, Group IV
#6 Manalapan over #5 Jackson Mmeorial

South, Group IV
#13 Washington Township over #3 Lenape

Non-Public North A
#5 Pope John XXIII over #1 Immaculata
#6 Seton Hall Prep over #2 Don Bosco

Non-Public South A
#1 St. Joe's Metuchen over #4 Notre Dame
#2 Bishop Eustace over #3 Red Bank Catholic

Non-Public North B
#1 Morristown-Beard over #12 Newark Academy
#2 St. Mary's Rutherford over #6 Dwight-Englewood

Non-Public South B
#4 St. Rose over #1 Holy Cross
#2 Sacred Heart over #3 Gloucester Catholic

So those are my predictions for today. Come back Tuesday to check out how the tournament has progressed as well as my picks for the 12 games on Tuesday, 8 of those are the Public Group Semifinals while the other 4 games will be some great matchups pitting the Non-Public schools against each other with sectional titles on the line. Every winner on Tuesday will punch their ticket to the final field of 12 in Toms River for next Saturday.