LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- With a little more than a month to go before the start of the postseason, University of the Cumberlands has proved to be the team to beat in the race for the Mid-South Conference regular season title.

Cumberlands is the lone MSC team to go through the first half of the conference slate without a blemish on the record. The Patriots (18-1, 8-0 in the MSC) have been dominant in the conference winning by an average of 18.1 points per game.

No. 6-ranked Cumberlands enjoys a two-game lead in the conference standings at the midway point over Shawnee State University (16-4, 6-2) and Georgetown College (14-6, 6-2).

Cumberlands opens the second half of conference play on Thursday as they travel to University of Pikeville (4-16, 0-8) and then on Saturday at UVa.-Wise (5-14, 1-7).

No. 11-ranked Shawnee State travels to No. 19-ranked Campbellsville University (14-7, 5-3) on Thursday and to St. Catharine College (16-5, 3-5) -- who is receiving votes in the national poll -- on Saturday.

The Shawnee State and Campbellsville game is the only game of the week featuring a pair of ranked teams. It will be the ninth time this season that a pair of ranked MSC teams meets. Shawnee State won the first meeting of the season 62-60 in Portsmouth, Ohio.

The Mid-South Conference has led the NAIA this season with more ranked teams than any other conference in the NAIA poll. The MSC has had five teams in the national ranking for the last five rating periods.

No. 17-ranked Georgetown must endure the same trek as Shawnee State over the weekend, going to St. Catharine on Thursday and Campbellsville on Saturday. No. 25-ranked Lindsey Wilson College (14-7, 3-5) visits Wise on Thursday and Pikeville on Saturday.