Landers: Oxford is a tough place to play

ATHENS - Georgia opens its 2005-06 SEC slate this evening at Ole Miss and will immediately get a taste of what its life will be like over the next two months. While the Lady Bulldogs have played a challenging non-conference schedule to date – seven of 12 opponents to date have appeared in one or both of the last two NCAA Tournaments – the level of competitiveness gets ratcheted up from here on out as Georgia enters conference play.

“I think it’s a big jump from where we’ve been into the Southeastern Conference,” Andy Landers said. “This conference has been traditionally – and appears to be again this year – one of most competitive in the country. I think there’s a lot of parity throughout our conference. If you look at the overall records right now, you have Tennessee and LSU sitting on top with no losses and basically a majority of the other teams with two or three losses.”

The Lady Dogs and Lady Rebels fit in that second group, all in pursuit of serious aspirations during regular- and post-season play. Though there are 13 more SEC dates on top, tonight’s matchup could have serious seeding implications come tournament time.

“Oxford is a tough place to play,” Landers said. “You add to that a very good Ole Miss team and a good Georgia team and you have the makings for a great conference opener. We look forward to that challenge.”