South Carolina heads north for the annual showdown with UConn Monday night.

By the time the game tips off, this will likely be #1 vs #2. NC State’s win over then- #1 Louisville followed by its upset loss to North Carolina Sunday all but guarantees South Carolina and UConn, currently #2 and #3, will slide up to the top two spots. It would be the third time in the seven years of the series (plus a tournament game), that the teams have been ranked #1 and #2. South Carolina was #1 in 2015, and then UConn was a year later.

South Carolina is also the top overall seed in Charlie Creme’s bracketology, with UConn also a top seed. UConn tops the NET rankings, with South Carolina third (Stanford, by virtue of not being able to play home games, has gotten credit for playing 12 road games, a reminder that the NET, which favors road wins, might not be the best measuring stick this season).

It’s kind of a big game.

Except when it’s not. You can’t really rise in the rankings. If you lose, you only fall a couple spots, and both teams would probably stay number one seeds. And it doesn’t change the SEC standings, where Texas A&M and Tennessee are nipping at South Carolina’s heels, just one game back in the loss column.

Dawn Staley argued last week before South Carolina’s game at winless Auburn, that the Tigers were a more important opponent than the Huskies. After all, South Carolina got the UConn monkey off its back with the win last season. She may have been technically correct, but there was surely some coach-speak involved.

“It is less pressure, but more hunger,” she said this weekend.

“I think there’s a little bit less pressure, but at the same time I’m saying that, I feel the pressure of actually having to do it again. When you’re on the road it’s a little bit different. It was easy to not let 18,000 people down.”

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2. Pressure or nah?

So is there pressure or not? Staley seemed to go back and forth. Everyone on this season’s team, aside from freshman Eniya Russell, was a part of the win last season, albeit in different roles. They weren’t overwhelmed by playing UConn last season, but that was at home.

“Anytime you play UConn you are testing yourself against great tradition. These players are a little bit different in that they just go out and play. I don’t think they really look into the long tradition of UConn,” Staley said. “Then again, they haven’t been to Gampel (Pavilion), and they haven’t seen those 11 championship banners hanging up. That’s why shootaround is so important. You’ve got to get in there and feel that space and start looking around and then at game time you’ve already seen it and you can focus on the task at hand.”

3. Threes

Last season, the Huskies dared the Gamecocks to beat them from deep. It backfired as the Gamecocks made 8-22 threes. It wasn’t a great percentage, but it was more than enough to earn the win. The Gamecocks still get most of their offense inside, so Geno Auriemma will probably try the same thing this season.

The good news for the Gamecocks is that Zia Cooke (42%), Destanni Henderson (39%), [and Brea Beal (39%) are all shooting better from behind the arc than they were last season, with Destiny Littleton (36%) starting to find her shot and Aliyah Boston always capable of making opponents pay if they leave her open. But the Gamecocks are missing a mismatch like Mikiah Herbert Harrigan. Herbert Harrigan had 10 points, seven rebounds, and three blocks last season, shooting 2-5 from three. More than numbers, she made big plays at the right time, and her third quarter three-pointer was a huge momentum basket. There’s no Mad Kiki this season.

4. Henny Time

There’s also no Tyasha Harris. Harris had the most dominant game of her career against the Huskies last season. With both offenses struggling, she scored six first quarter points to put the Gamecocks ahead 11-2 after one quarter. She played all forty minutes and finished with 19 points, 11 assists, four rebounds, and no turnovers.

Taking over at point guard, Henderson had a rocky start to the season. But she has solidified her hold on the position since SEC play began. Henderson is averaging 11.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.3-1. She is top-30 in the country in both categories, and leads the SEC in assists. And Henderson is arguably the fastest player in the country with the ball, which makes her a different type of point guard than Harris.

“Henny just has to do what she does, push the ball down the floor, find some easy buckets, whether it’s her or dishing it off to one of her teammates, but the pace has to be in a place where we put UConn back on their heels,” Staley said.

Auriemma agreed. One of the Huskies defensive priorities is to not let Henderson and Cooke get into the open court.

“Their guards are a really big, big part of what makes them go,” he said. “How quickly they get into transition and their ability to put the ball on the floor.”

5. Scouting the Huskies

The Huskies, as always, are deep and talented. But this season all the attention goes to freshman guard Paige Bueckers, who Staley called a “generational” player. Bueckers leads the Huskies in scoring at 20.4 points, but what is really head-turning is that she is shooting 57.3% from the floor and 59.6% from three. Bueckers also averages 5.7 assists and 5.1 rebounds.

Bueckers has only really struggled in one game this season, when she shot 3-14 against Tennessee, but she still made a game-clinching three late. Staley said “everybody” will get a chance to guard Bueckers. The goal is to make her work on defense, and then mix up her looks on offense to keep her from getting comfortable.

“She’s able to do anything she wants out there on the floor. She’s selfless, but she’s scoring at an incredibly efficient rate. She takes good shots. I’m eager to see how that plays out for both teams,” Staley said. “What makes Paige special is she’s efficient in everything she does. Her IQ is off the charts. She plays at her own pace. She makes the right basketball play.”

The Ws

Who: #2 South Carolina (15-1, 10-0) at #3 UConn (13-1, 11-0)

When: Monday, February 8, 7:00 pm

Where: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, CT

Watch: FS1