Call them the JSN 8--the Ocho.  Eight local boys' basketball teams had the requisite .500 record or better by the cutoff date to qualify for this year's state tournament.   Action begins on Monday, March 2nd with all teams in action no later than Thursday the 5th.

Not one local team has a seed higher than fifth, which means the road to a sectional hoops title will be literally on the road.   Here is the outlook for the various teams:

North Jersey Section 1, Group III:

This promises to be one of the more interesting and competitive basketball sections in all of New Jersey.  Only nine teams qualified, but one could make a case for any of those nine squads to win the sectional title.

Wayne Valley drew the 8th seed, which gives them an opening-round home game Tuesday, March 3rd against #9 Mount Olive.  A win there sends them up to Sussex County two days later to face top seed Sparta.  The Indians have been up and down this year, but they are very dangerous when healthy.  Don't forget that Wayne Valley won this section last season as a #10 seed.

Also in the section, seventh seed Passaic Valley.  The Hornets have been struggling of late and will need to pull it together to knock off a tough second-seeded Old Tappan squad on the road.

The highest seed for a local basketball squad belongs to West Milford, which barely missed out on a home game.  Instead the fifth seed Highlanders must travel to #4 Wayne Hills for an excellent quarterfinal round matchup.  West Milford has been having some difficulties of its own recently but the Highlanders are completely capable of winning this section when playing their best.

North Jersey Section 1, Group II:

Two local squads drew low seeds in this bracket and will start on the road on the basketball tournament's first night.  Ninth seed Pequannock travels to Wallkill Valley, a team that beat the Panthers earlier this season.  This has been a wildly inconsistent squad, but it certainly is capable of beating the Rangers.  Knocking off undefeated top seed Pascack Hills in the next game would be a far different matter.

Pompton Lakes barely squeezed into the tournament to break a long boys' basketball post-season drought.  The Cardinals are the 11th seed and will travel to Dumont.  If Pompton Lakes can win that game, a matchup with third seed Mahwah awaits.

North Jersey Section 1, Group I:

The only team to make this bracket is Kinnelon, which actually drew a higher seed in the Morris County hoops tournament (8th) than it did here (9th).  That means the Colts must travel on Tuesday to face league foe Verona.  The Hillbillies won both regular-season meetings.  The winner travels two days later to meet first seed Cedar Grove.

North Jersey Section 2, Group I:

Not a great draw for the Whippany Park in this bracket.  The Wildcats are the seventh seed, which earns them a trip to Newark to face Technology, ranked 4th in the state in Group I.  University is the top seed and the favorite to take this section.

North Non-Public Group A:

DePaul has visions of making a run for this title, and the Spartans' recent win over Passaic in the county tournament shows that they can compete with bigger basketball teams.  DePaul drew the 8th seed in the bracket, giving it an intriguing first-round home matchup with ninth seed Bergen Catholic.

The Spartans may be able to beat the Crusaders, but extending their basketball season any further will be quite difficult.  The next game would be at top seed St. Peter's Prep, ranked in the top ten in New Jersey and the clear favorite in this section. -- Paul Mencher for Jersey Sports Now