Powers in SEC battle today

ATHENS, Ga. - Georgia and Louisiana State University split a pair of games last season, but it was the order of the wins that made all the difference.

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The Lady Bulldogs played one of their best games of the season to win 80-74 in Athens, Ga., on Jan. 25. Two months later, the two teams met in the Elite Eight in Seattle.

The Lady Tigers, led by All-American Seimone Augustus, came from behind to win the West Regional 62-60 and advance to the Final Four in New Orleans.

Today, No. 17 Georgia and top-ranked LSU (13-1, 0-0) meet again in Baton Rouge, La., in a nationally televised game (CBS-Ch. 12). It's a new season, but the Lady Bulldogs (12-3, 2-0) haven't forgotten the disappointment of what happened the last time.

The stakes aren't quite as high today, but that doesn't mean this isn't a big game for two of the top contenders for the SEC title.

LSU has been the country's most impressive team all season, winning its first 13 games, but the Lady Tigers are coming of a 51-49 overtime loss at No. 14 Rutgers on Wednesday.

While this is LSU's first conference game, the Lady Bulldogs are riding a seven-game win streak. Georgia beat Arkansas by 21 points in its SEC opener and routed Ole Miss, 78-51 on Thursday.

"I think we're starting to show that we're a national contender," said freshman Tasha Humphrey.

The big question after the win over Ole Miss was whether or not a victory over LSU would earn back the Lady Bulldogs' locker room privileges.

Following Georgia's 55-49 loss at Georgia Tech on Dec. 3, Landers moved his team into the visitors' locker room at Stegeman Coliseum and won't allow his players to practice in any Georgia clothes.

Landers said he did it because "I just don't think we're representing ourselves like a Georgia basketball team."

The Lady Bulldogs have gone 7-1 since being kicked out of their plush digs.

"It's not about winning and losing," Landers said. "It's more the demeanor and personality that I want Georgia basketball to have. It's not like we have bad kids. We have kids that are more typical of today's culture, and we can be better than that."