Just before the start of overtime in Tennessee’s 95-93 loss at Arkansas on Saturday afternoon, SEC Network analyst Daymeon Fishback, a former Auburn star, said of the winners, “The Razorbacks are going to prove they belong in the Top 25.”
And that’s just what they did against the No. 19 Volunteers, who led by nine with 3:53 left in regulation, trailed by 11 in overtime, then barely tasted defeat inside a jam-packed and deafening Bud Walton Arena.
And while the Hogs indeed should expect to be ranked for the first time in three years when the new Associated Press poll comes out, Tennessee has nothing to feel bad about after the first of its 18 conference games.
As point guard Jordan Bone said after leading the Vols with 21 points: “We’ll watch film and learn a lot.”
If it wasn’t already clear heading into this weekend – and Georgia visiting Kentucky tonight should enlighten us further concerning conference favorites – the rest of the college hoops community is quickly learning that the SEC is becoming known almost as much for basketball as it is a football colossus.