No. 4 UCONN at No. 1 SOUTH CAROLINA

When: Monday, 7 p.m.

Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, S.C. Records: UConn 20-2, 10-0 AAC; South Carolina 22-1, 10-0 SEC

TV: ESPN2

Radio: UConn/IMG Sports Network, 97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, WAVZ-New Haven (1300 AM), WICC-Bridgeport (600 AM), WINEDanbury (940 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM)

KEEP AN EYE ON

Rising to the occasion?: Which version of Megan Walker will we see? Walker leads UConn in scoring, but she’s struggled in big games. She’s shot just 29.6 percent against ranked opponents this season, including 3-for-16 in Monday’s loss to No. 3 Oregon.

Despite those numbers, UConn coach Geno Auriemma doesn’t feel like Walker has something to prove against top-ranked South Carolina.

“If this was tennis or if this was track and field, then you could say, ‘Yeah, Megan’s got a lot to prove personally.’ But if Megan plays lousy on Monday night and we win, that’s pretty good for Megan,” Auriemma said. “The object Monday night is to find a way to win. She’s going to have to be a part of that. Any way you shake it, she’s going to have to be a part of that. She’s either going to be a big part of our win or she’s going to be a big part of why we didn’t win.

“Even if you get a triple-double and we didn’t win, well then you should’ve gotten one more rebound, you should’ve gotten one more bucket.”

Besides Oregon, the Huskies have also played No. 2 Baylor, No. 14 DePaul and No. 23 Tennessee. They’re 2-2 in those games and 7-6 all-time against No. 1 teams.

Soaking it in: Auriemma is eager to see how his young players respond in a raucous road environment. South Carolina is expecting close to a sellout (18,000).

“Those fans are into it, man. It is loud. It is loud,” Auriemma said. “That’ll probably be more people than Anna’s (Makurat) seen in her life screaming at her. This is going to be fun watching her reaction.”

Making an immediate impact: Dawn Staley landed the nation’s top recruiting class, including four of ESPN’s top 11 prospects: Aliyah Boston (No. 3), Zia Cooke (No. 4), Laeticia Amihere (No. 10) and Breanna Beal (No. 11). Boston, the former UConn target, has made the quickest impact. The 6-5 post player has averaged a team-best 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks, putting herself in the running for national freshman of the year.

History at a glance: UConn has won all eight meetings by an average of 25.8 points. The schools recently agreed to extend their series through 2021-22.