A lot can change in three days, apparently.

And so will be life in the SEC in 2025 as No. 1 Tennessee learned in the hardest of ways at Exactech Arena Tuesday night in a 73-43 defeat at the hands of the No. 8 Florida Gators, spoiling the Vols' best start in more than a century.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

It was a complete role reversal for Tennessee (14-1, 1-1 SEC) which entered the day as the only remaining unbeaten team in college basketball. In its SEC opener on Saturday, the Vols looked untouchable, dominating Arkansas virtually from beginning to end in a stellar shooting performance from Chaz Lanier and an even more commanding afternoon from Igor Milicic Jr. on the glass.

Both were virtually non-factors against the Gators (14-1, 1-1), who responded to their first loss of the season at the hands of Kentucky in emphatic fashion, out-rebounding Tennessee, 55-37 and out-scoring it 40-14 in the paint.

An off shooting night didn't help. The Vols were never really in the game because of an abysmal night offensively, beginning with just four-made field goal in the first half. They shot 21.4% overall were 4-of-29 from three-point range.

Lanier and Zakai Zeigler scored 10 each, while Milicic and Bishop Boswell finished 8.

Alijah Martin paced Florida with 18 points and Denzel Aberdeen finished with 16.

Tennessee assistant coach Gregg Polinksy hinted earlier in the week that the Vols might have to settle for a shootout to have a chance at Florida.

It didn't look like much of a shootout for either team in the first five minutes. Tennessee was 0-for-6 from the field and the Gators scored four hard-fought baskets to lead 6-0 at the 15:52 mark of the first half.

The first media timeout--likely welcomed by more than no one than Rick Barnes--didn't provide a fix for the Vols' shooting woes. Florida swelled its lead to 12-0 after Zakai Zeigler was whistled for a foul on 3-point attempt from Denzel Aberdeen.

Tennessee got on the board for the first time, six-plus minutes into the half on a pair of Felix Okpara free throws. It was followed by an Okpara jumper--the Vols' first made field goal after missing their first 16 shot attempts--to trim the Gators' lead to 12-4.

Another scoring drought followed. Jordan Gainey pulled Tennessee within six after Florida went nearly four minutes without a basket, but Aberdeen answered with the first 3-pointer for either team, then Will Richard added another to put the Gators up, 18-6.

There wasn't a moment where the Vols had momentum, or were even close to capturing it. They continued to get beat on the glass with Florida out-rebounding them, 30-19 by the end of the half. They shot 13.8% from the field on 4-of-28 shooting without a 3-pointer in 14 attempts.

Tennessee didn't score from the field over the last six-plus minutes, going 0-for-10 before the half mercifully ended on a shot from Gainey that missed at the buzzer with the Gators leading, 34-15.

There might have been some glimmer of hope when Chaz Lanier hit the Vols' first three to open the second half, but Florida responded with a 9-0 run less than four minutes in to up its lead to 43-18 after a drive and contested dunk from Alijah Martin.

That run eventually settled down. The problem for Tennessee was that it couldn't take advantage of the stretches where the Gators weren't scoring. The shooting woes that plagued the Vols in the first 20 minutes only dug their hole further well into the second.

Tennessee went more than five minutes without a field goal, the clock ticking inside of eight minutes as Walter Clayton Jr. scored to swell Florida's advantage to 58-27.

The Vols never found the shooting to seriously threaten the Gators' lead.

Tennessee will get another chance on the road on Saturday.

The Vols play at Texas in Rick Barnes' return to Austin where he led the Longhorns for 17 years— this time as an SEC foe.

It will also be a rematch of the 2024 NCAA Tournament Second Round game between the two teams in Charlotte that Tennessee won on its way to the Elite Eight.

Texas (11-3) is coming off of a 20-point loss at Texas A&M in its league debut last Saturday and host No. 2 Auburn late Tuesday.

Tip-off between Tennessee and the Longhorns at the Moody Center is slated for 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.