Arkansas women's basketball could be in for rough SEC slate after slow non-conference start

On Sunday, the Arkansas women's basketball team completed its non-conference slate with an 87-70 victory over Central Arkansas (6-5) inside Bud Walton Arena. 

The win is the first for the Razorbacks in 21 days, as their last triumph came in an 84-45 beatdown of Southeast Missouri State on Dec. 8. 

Arkansas' record now sits at 7-8, with its SEC opener set for Jan. 2 against LSU in Fayetteville. 

While the Hogs were able to finish non-conference play with a victory, Mike Neighbors and Arkansas must be ready to go to war in a deep Southeastern Conference. Arkansas was tabbed by the media as the basement dweller in the SEC in the pre-season. The aforementioned LSU Tigers - who currently sit as the No. 6 team in the nation with an undefeated 15-0 record - will provide a litmus test as to where Arkansas stacks up against top SEC competition. 

After the SEC opener vs. LSU, Arkansas must travel to face No. 5 Texas (13-1) in Austin on Jan. 5. The Razorbacks' first realistically winnable contest will be on Jan. 9 when they travel to Auburn (9-4). 

Other notable SEC matchups for Arkansas include a road game against No. 2 South Carolina (12-1), a home matchup against No. 15 Tennessee (12-0) and a home contest with No. 20 Alabama (13-1). 

The bad news? Arkansas is living up to its abysmal pre-season expectations. The Razorbacks' 7-8 record has them 16th in the SEC standings, alone as the only team in the league with a losing record. 

The nature of Arkansas' losses is equally abhorrent as their current standing. A home loss to Fairfield in Arkansas' season-opener set the tone for a season full of no-show performances. The Hogs were handed a 49-point loss by UCLA on Nov. 17 and were blown out by 21 points at home to Oral Roberts. 

Arkansas has also fallen short against the likes of Bowling Green, Liberty and Troy — not exactly a murderer's row of opponents. 

Even when Arkansas has taken care of business against inferior opponents, it has failed to dominate in the way it should. Against Arkansas State and Central Arkansas, the Razorbacks allowed their in-state foes to hang around throughout the game, with UCA even taking a 23-21 lead late in the first quarter. 

Slow starts may be permissible against less talented teams, but if Arkansas takes its time to get going in SEC play, it won't be in very many games. 

Time will ultimately tell whether or not Arkansas can prove it's better than its sluggish start, but things don't look very promising in Fayetteville at the moment.