A lot of highly regarded teams have played top-ranked Tennessee and come up empty. So No. 2 Connecticut knows what it will be up against today when it entertains the Lady Vols.

Tennessee (4-0 Southeastern Conference, 16-0) began the season at No. 1 and has remained there despite a grueling schedule and injuries to key players.

The Volunteers, who used 10 starting lineups in their first 15 games, have beaten eight teams that were ranked among the top 13. Seven of those wins were on the road.

Beating Connecticut (6-0 Big East, 12-0) shouldn’t be easy. The Huskies, who have been ranked right behind Tennessee the past seven weeks, are expected to give the Volunteers their toughest game so far this season.

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, in her 21st season, said the interest in the game has far exceeded any other her team has played.

“The media requests have been unbelievable,” she said. “They have sold out the gym. I’ve had more ticket requests, with friends calling me - people I graduated with … It’s a hot ticket.”

No wonder.

Tennessee and Connecticut are two of the deepest and wellbalanced teams in the country, and both are undefeated.

No one has come close to beating the Huskies.

Led by All-American forward Rebecca Lobo, Connecticut has won by an average margin of more than 40 points.

Tennessee, despite injuries to its best player, Nikki McCray, and four others - and a three-game suspension of senior guard Tiffany Woosley - has outscored opponents by an average of about 20 points.

This is the first meeting between the schools, and they haven’t had any common opponents this season.

But Tennessee has had a tougher schedule, beating Louisiana Tech, Stanford, Penn State, Virginia, Colorado, Vanderbilt, Purdue and Auburn. Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma doubted whether the Huskies would have fared as well against a similar schedule.

“Even if we beat Tennessee, do you think we’re the No. 1 team in the country?” Auriemma said. “Do you think we could play the teams they play, on the road, and have the record they do? I don’t think so.”

But that was before the Huskies easily survived their first real challenge, beating No. 19 Seton Hall 80-36 Friday night.

Connecticut, which never has been ranked No. 1, will try to avoid what happened to Stanford in the only other 1-2 matchup this season. The Cardinals were beaten 105-69 by Tennessee on Dec. 1.

In 1-2 matchups, history favors the Lady Vols. They have played in 12 of the previous games between the top two teams, and have a 7-5 record.

Fatigue could be a factor for the Vols. They are playing their third game in five days. After winning at Auburn on Saturday, Tennessee was to fly back to Knoxville at 1 a.m. Sunday, then catch a flight to Connecticut 10 hours later.

“I worry about fatigue more emotionally than physically, because physically I think we’re in good shape and we’re not going to overdo it between those two games,” Summitt said.