NCCAW: Could the Lady Vols hand UConn their first loss since December?

February college basketball explores the rigid depths of conference rivalries, but some teams just can’t quench their competitive thirst.

UConn’s Big East conference play, which has thus far featured zero losses, is going to be interrupted twice before the postseason: This Thursday, Feb. 6 against No. 19 Tennessee, and again on Feb. 16 against No. 2 South Carolina. Both games seem far from their routine Big East cakewalks, but truthfully, that seems like the point. Iron sharpens iron, and some adversity for a team that hasn’t lost since before Christmas will help come March.

For the Volunteers, a Husky visit was probably scheduled as a litmus test to see how they fare against non-SEC opponents. They only faced one ranked team in non-conference play. However, after dropping five of nine games so far in the SEC, head coach Kim Caldwell’s team isn’t playing out of curiosity. They’re fishing for a statement win.

Here’s what to watch for as one of women’s college basketball’s most heated and historic rivalries resumes (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN):

A top two offense vs. a top two defense

Obsession over Paige Bueckers’ greatness often fades deep into the winter, thanks to the aforementioned Big East competitive mediocrity. You have to be a sicko, or a diehard UConn fan, to tune into a 50-point win over Butler. Nine of UConn’s 12 conference games have been won by 25 points or more. Dominant, yes. Entertaining? Eh.

Tennessee is a different animal. Thursday is a battle of two world-class offenses, and one world-class defense. The Volunteers champion a 91-point per game average, second in the country. UConn allows only 52 points per game, also second. However, UConn has a top-20 scoring offense, while Tennessee’s defense is in the bottom hundred of Division I programs. If the game was played by averages, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma could add another win to his record and take the week off.

Tennessee hasn’t beaten UConn since Candace Parker donned orange and white in 2007. However, this is Caldwell’s first year leading the Vols, and her style of coaching is fit for upsets. Tennessee shoots 33 3-pointers a game, sinking an average of 11. Both marks are first in the country. Their percentage isn’t anything to write home about, but analytical minds will tell you that doesn’t really matter. South Carolina transfer Talaysia Cooper has been producing on both ends, and is likely to draw the Bueckers assignment on defense. Cooper is first in the SEC in steals, but reaching on Paige’s handle is a recipe for disaster. Staying in front and forcing jumpers should be high on the home team’s whiteboard.

As good as Bueckers and Cooper are, the matchup to watch will be in the middle. Tennessee is guard heavy. UConn freshman Sarah Strong has dominated nearly every matchup on the season. You can’t send reckless doubles at Strong—her maturity as a passer is one of her most impressive traits. Nearly four assists per game suggests that Strong quickly recognizes kick outs to shooters, and the Huskies down 38 percent of their tries from distance. She’ll get her one-on-ones against Lazaria Spearman, the Vols center who doesn’t have a track record of shutting down premier posts.

Caldwell has to get creative on defense, but she has an arsenal of offensive talent who can go make-for-make with the best. If they can bypass the stifling UConn defense with shotmaking, the ball will be figuratively, and literally, be in the Huskies hands (paws?) to keep up with the Lady Vols on the road.

Game information

No. 5 UConn Huskies (21-2) vs. No. 19 Tennessee Lady Vols (16-5)

When: Thursday, Feb. 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET

Where: Food City Center in Knoxville, TN

How to watch: ESPN