Arkansas got a brutal dose of reality Saturday afternoon at Tennessee.
Sure, not every game will be on the road against the No. 1 team in the country, but the Razorbacks’ 76-52 blowout loss to the Volunteers at Thompson-Boling Arena was a harsh reminder that SEC play has arrived.
It was competitive early before Arkansas went more than seven minutes without a field goal and found itself in the same position it was in its four non-conference games against high-major opponents: trailing by double digits in the first half.
The Razorbacks at least made things interesting in the first two — neutral-site losses to current top-25 teams Baylor and Illinois — and then rallied for a wins over a bad Miami (Fla.