Seimone Augustus said she would not mind a bit of deja vu this weekend in North Little Rock, Ark.
The LSU women’s basketball team collected the program’s second Southeastern Conference tournament championship in 2003 in the Alltel Arena, the site of this year’s tournament.
The Lady Tigers’ attempt to capture a third tournament title begins today at noon against No. 8-seed Ole Miss.
LSU earned a first-round bye and was forced to prepare for the possibility of playing either Arkansas or Ole Miss.
LSU assistant coach Bob Starkey, who filled in for coach Pokey Chatman at practice Wednesday, said the team made a few adjustments to prepare for both potential opponents.
“[Tuesday], before practice, we watched 15 minutes of tape of our last game with Arkansas, and we came out and did some breakdown drills as if we were preparing for Arkansas,” Starkey said. “Then [Wednesday], we turned around and did the same thing for Ole Miss.”
In order for the Lady Tigers to capture the 2006 conference championship, they will have to win three games in as many days.
Starkey said it is evident when players become tired in the second or third game of the tournament.
“I would say a team like Arkansas might be a little more of an advantage than an Alabama team, and that is strictly based on numbers,” Starkey said. “Arkansas plays about 11 or 12 players where Alabama plays about six or seven.”
Augustus said the tournament wears on players because of the quality of play in the SEC, which has the No. 3-, 8-, 23- and 24 ranked teams in the nation.
“If we meet Arkansas in their backyard, you can expect a big crowd to come out and support them, so that’s a tough game,” Augustus said. “Then the next game, you may have Vandy or Georgia. And then your last game could be against Tennessee or any other top opponent.”
To help the team prepare for the tournament, Starkey said the coaching staff gave the players some time off.
“We are one of a few teams that didn’t have an open date,” Starkey said. “Most SEC teams get two open dates, and what we did is we went out and scheduled teams like Connecticut, Minnesota and Baylor.”
But Starkey said he is confident in his team and expects the Lady Tigers’ style of play to be a distinct advantage.
“I think the first thing that really helps is our system of play,” Starkey said. “We’re going to play everybody the same way defensively, and our motion offense will be the same.”
 
SEC TEAM PREVIEWS
 
No. 2-seed Tennessee (25-4, 11-3)
Regular-season meeting: LSU defeated Tennessee 72-69 in Knoxville.
Player to watch: Candace Parker – 16.2 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game
Notable: Tennessee has won 11 tournament titles, more than any other team in the SEC.
 
No. 3-seed Georgia (20-7, 10-4)
Regular-season meeting: LSU defeated Georgia 65-64 in Athens and 68-61 in Baton Rouge.
Player to watch: Tasha Humphrey – 20.2 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per game
Notable: Georgia is the fourth-highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 80.9 points per game but went just 3-5 against ranked opponents this season.
 
No. 4-seed Kentucky (20-7, 9-5)
Regular-season meeting: LSU defeated Kentucky in Lexington 66-36.
Player to watch: Carly Ormerod – 10.1 points per game, 41.7 3-point field-goal percentage
Notable: The Lady Wildcats were picked to finish ninth in the preseason SEC predictions but finished the season with a 9-5 conference record with wins against Tennessee and at Florida.
 
No. 5-seed Florida (20-7, 8-6)
Regular-season meeting: LSU lost to Florida in Gainesville 79-78 in overtime.
Player to watch: Dalila Eshe – 14.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game
Notable: Florida went 2-1 in its final three games, including defeats against No. 3 LSU and No. 8 Tennessee to jump back into the AP top-25 poll.
 
No. 6-seed Vanderbilt (19-9, 8-6)
Regular-season meeting: LSU defeated Vanderbilt 75-53 in Baton Rouge.
Player to watch: Liz Sherwood – 12.8 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game
Notable: Sherwood is first in the nation in field-goal percentage making 66.4 percent of her attempts, but Vanderbilt has not beaten a ranked team this season, going 0-6 in those games.
 
No. 8-seed Ole Miss (15-12, 5-9)
Regular-season meeting: LSU defeated Ole Miss in Baton Rouge 78-63.
Player to watch: Armintie Price – 16.8 points per game, 10.1 rebounds per game
Notable: Ole Miss advanced to the second round of the tournament by defeating No. 9 seed Arkansas 94-64.
 
No. 10-seed Auburn (13-14, 4-10)
Regular-season meeting: LSU defeated Auburn on the road 65-38.
Player to watch: DeWanna Bonner – 12.5 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game
Notable: Auburn advanced to the second round of the tournament by defeating No. 7 seed South Carolina 64-48.
 
Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]