A pair of South Carolina schools rule SIAC men's basketball. Longtime rivals Claflin from Orangeburg, S.C., and Benedict from neighboring Columbia are the league's best teams this season and are making noise nationally as well. Claflin's Panthers are first in the NCAA Division II South Region rankings while Benedict's Tigers are second.

Claflin, playing its first season in Division II after moving from the NAIA, is doing just fine in its new surroundings under head coach Ron Woodard.

The Panthers are 17-2 overall, 15-2 in the league and ranked No. 15 in the NABC/Division II coaches' poll. Benedict (16-2, 14-1), which last season was the first SIAC team to get out of the first round of the NCAA playoffs since 1992, is in hot pursuit of a better result in 2009. Coach Fred Watson's Tigers are 22nd in the Division II poll.

How even are the two squads?

They split their season series with the road team winning. Both dominate with defense: Claflin leads the league in scoring defense at 57.5 points per game, while Benedict is second at 60.7. As a result, they're 1-2 in scoring margin (Benedict 14.7 points, Claflin 10.3). Much can happen between now and tournament time, but these two programs are on track to be the top seeds heading into the postseason with a two-game advantage on the SIAC field. Barring a monumental collapse, Benedict and Claflin have all but punched invitations to the national tournament, too.