Ocala, FL-- Last season on its way to the NJCAA National Championship, the College of Central Florida men's basketball team had to go through the always-tough Panhandle Conference.

After being eliminated from the FCSAA State Tournament on eight straight trips by Panhandle teams, the Patriots broke through and knocked off Northwest Florida State in both the state semifinals and national championship.

If CF wants the opportunity to defend its national championship in Hutchinson, Kan., it must get by another Panhandle power, Chipola College, in order to do so.

The Patriots host the Indians, ranked No. 11 in the county and No. 1 in the state, on Wednesday night at 8 in the opening round of the state tournament at CF.

"Last year, we had to beat Northwest to get to where we wanted to be," CF coach Tim Ryan said. "So this is not new to us to have to go through a Panhandle team.

"They're very talented. They like to pressure and they get up on you and if you can't handle that pressure, it is probably going to be a long night."

Both teams had to battle their way into the state tournament.

CF (23-8) knocked off rival Santa Fe College 69-65 in the finals of the Mid-Florida Conference tournament.

"That win gave us a boost," Ryan said. "Not only winning it, but how we won it and how hard they played and how well they played together.

"We talk about that every game you have to get better and we did that in the playoff."

Meanwhile, Chipola ended two-time national finalist Northwest Florida State's season with a 69-64 win in Marianna to close the season and win the Panhandle Conference.

"There's a lot at stake every time we play and with winner taking the conference and the loser going home it was even more intense," Chipola coach Patrick Blake said. "But those are the kind of games you want to coach and play in.

"We've been in the position where we felt every game was winner-or-go home the last 2 ½ months, so hopefully that will pay off for us."

Chipola now gets another chance to play a big-time game.

"We have the upmost respect for coach Ryan and his program," Blake said. "We are excited about the opportunity to play the defending national champions on their home floor in the state tournament.

"Games like that are what college basketball is all about."

Chipola was able to battle through the Panhandle Conference, which saw the home team post a 24-6 record during the conference season.

"This was the most balanced our conference was since I have been here," said Blake, who has been at Chipola for the past four years, the last two as the program's head coach."Home court advantage was huge this year and it proved to be real difficult to win on the road.

"The key for both us and Pensacola was that we were able to both win two road games, but it was extremely tough to win away from home."

CF is looking to become the first program to win consecutive state titles since Chipola won three from 2007-09.

"I think it's really wide open," said Ryan, whose team won the last meeting against Chipola in the state tournament in 2011 on a late four-point play by Christian Martinez."I think you have about six or seven teams that could pull this off legitimately.

"For us, this year's team is totally different from last year. You get that in junior college. Being able to adapt in any team sport is crucial especially here, but one thing that both teams have our guys that want to win."