C. Vivian Stringer doesn't want to think about Tennessee's ranking.

"I'm getting a little nervous," the coach of No. 7 Rutgers said. "What I have to think about is the exact detail and breakdown of Tennessee."

Stringer knows the Lady Vols (21-1) pretty well — they've ended the Scarlet Knights' last three seasons with losses in the NCAA tournament, including last year's 59-46 national championship loss.

Monday's matchup between the teams is more than a chance for revenge for Rutgers (19-3), though.

With the Scarlet Knights' upset of No. 1 Connecticut on Tuesday, Tennessee may move back into The Associated Press poll's top spot.

That would give Rutgers a chance to become the first team in history to beat two top-ranked teams consecutively.

"I never thought about it like that," Rutgers forward Essence Carson said. "I thought of it just as the chance to play two great teams, who year after year are always in the race for a national championship."

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt knows a thing or two about a tough schedule. Her Lady Vols boast the top RPI in the country.

Summitt thinks Rutgers' strong schedule — they've got the third-best RPI — has helped them become a better team than when the two met last year.

"They are not going to back down from anyone," she said. "They will come in here with great confidence. I think they will come in here with something to prove, a little chip on their shoulder."

Summitt said she thinks the Scarlet Knights have improved their inside game, will try to press more and come with a deeper lineup.

The all-time winningest coach has something else to worry about. Her star player, Candace Parker, may not be available for the game after bruising her knee in a win at Mississippi State on Thursday.

Parker leads the Lady Vols with 20 points per game and 8.6 rebounds.

"We would not risk anything," Summitt said, adding she would play the All-American only if she was 100 percent. "But I think we have people that can step up and play bigger roles."

People like guard Alexis Hornbuckle, who's second to Parker in scoring with an average 11 points per game and averages 5.4 rebounds per game.

"We know they are coming in all fired up after the UConn win as well as us knocking them out last year, so we don't want to let them come into our house and beat us," Hornbuckle said.

Stringer is hoping guard Epiphanny Prince stays fired up after her career performance against the Huskies. Prince scored 27 of her 33 points in the second half.

The sophomore didn't fare so well last season against the Lady Vols.

"Normally if she misses a shot, she doesn't want to shoot," Stringer said. "The last time we played Tennessee she didn't take any shots. No shots in the Final Four game. She knows what she can do to play like that."

When Prince and her teammates take the court on Monday, they'll be sporting a new look too. Rutgers is trading in its trademark scarlet for hot pink uniforms and shoes with pink details as part of the 'Think Pink' campaign aimed at raising breast cancer awareness.

Tennessee men's coach Bruce Pearl has hinted he may show up for the game in head-to-toe pink too. Summitt said she's excited about supporting the campaign, but won't be taking it that far.

"A suit with a pinstripe that's pink," she said.

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