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(AP) -- LSU has been picked to win its second straight Southeastern Conference championship.
 
The Tigers got the nod in the Western Division over Alabama, the team that beat LSU in the BCS championship game in January.

Arkansas was picked to finish third in the West, followed by Auburn, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Mississippi in a vote by the 222 media members attending the league's media days .
 
Georgia was picked to win the Eastern Division, followed by South Carolina, Florida, Missouri, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
 
South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore received the most votes on the first team, followed by LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu and Alabama center Barrett Jones.
 
LSU led the league with seven first-team selections, Alabama had five. The West had 20 of the 26 first-team selections.

(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)