ATHENS, Ga. — The league and CBS wanted one game to open Southeastern Conference play for a television spot on Sunday before the rest of the league opened play this coming Tuesday and Wednesday.
LSU and Georgia was the choice and if the events of the past few weeks are any indication the battle of the 21st-ranked Tigers and the Bulldogs set for 3:30 p.m. CST Sunday at Stegeman Coliseum may just be what the SEC and the television network were looking for in a showcase game.
On Dec. 21, the Tigers knocked off the number one team in the country in Arizona. On Dec. 31, Georgia at home knocked off No. 2 Pittsburgh, a Panther team that could have gone to No. 1 after Alabama had lost the night before at Utah.
So LSU (9-1) and Georgia (8-3) will look to get off to a quick start in the league Sunday afternoon.
LSU has won seven straight coming off wins over Tulane (74-62) and UNO (69-57), while Georgia, losers of three of its first four, has also won seven straight, including the Pittsburgh game in its last start Tuesday afternoon.
The game will be regionally televised in the South on CBS Sports with the local radio broadcast on the LSU Sports Network (Eagle 98.1 FM in Baton Rouge). The audio broadcast will also be available on the Internet at www.LSUSports.net.
The Bulldogs are led by Jarvis Hayes, averaging 17.7 points per game, 4.5 rebounds and better than two assists per game. Also in double figures for the Bulldogs are Ezra Williams (16.9 ppg), Steve Thomas (13.0 ppg and a team-leading 8.8 rebounds per game) and Chris Daniels (11.4 ppg).
Senior forward Ronald Dupree, averaging 15.2 points per game and 7.7 rebounds, paces LSU. Against UNO, Dupree had his second double double of the season with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win against UNO. It was his eighth consecutive double figure game of the season.
Jaime Lloreda, the junior college player of the year a season ago, will be at the other forward, and Lloreda enters SEC player second in the league in rebounds at 9.1 boards a game. Lloreda is averaging 12.7 points per game after a 14 point, eight rebound effort against UNO.
Torris Bright, Collis Temple III and Antonio Hudson will be at the guards for the Tigers with Bright continuing to have a strong season at the point position with 40 assists and just nine turnovers in the last six games. Bright is the league leader in assists at 5.9 a game and he is the other member of the Tiger squad scoring in double figures at 10.3 per game. Temple comes in averaging 9.1 points a game and Hudson is scoring at an 8.7 clip.
Following the game, the Tigers will return home for four straight games at the Maravich Assembly Center: Houston on Jan. 8, eighth-ranked Mississippi State on Jan. 11, Centenary on Jan. 15 and Ole Miss on Jan. 18. Tickets for all four games are available at the LSU Athletic Ticket Office in the Athletic Administration Building and on the Internet at www.LSUsports.net.