STORRS — A savvy veteran such as UConn senior Barbara Turner doesn't need a lot of extra motivation to get her competitive juices flowing for big games. She's been through her share throughout her career.

The games don't get any bigger than tonight's Top 10 clash between the eighth-ranked Huskies and No. 7 Rutgers at the soldout Louis Brown Athletic Center (7:30, ESPN2).

The Big East championship is at stake. So is the next chapter in the legacy of UConn's senior class.

UConn has not won both the conference regular-season and tournament championships in the same season during their careers. They also don't want to be the first team to fail to win a conference regular-season championship in consecutive seasons in more than a decade. There won't be the need for a lot of pregame talk. What's at stake is self-explanatory, especially to Turner.

"All Big East season we've had to play the best teams in our league on the road," Turner said. "So it wouldn't end any better way than playing the No. 1 team in our league at their place to settle the score and tie up the league championship. The bottom line is we need to go down there and win."

The Big East schedule makers couldn't have mapped out the season any better. First, they pitted Rutgers (23-3, 15-0 Big East) and UConn (26-3, 14-1) against each other twice, with the second meeting coming in the regular season finale. Next, the teams were picked first and second, respectively, in the preseason coaches poll

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and then went out and played that way throughout the season.

Tonight, in front of a national television audience, a champion (or champions) will be crowned. UConn needs to win to earn a share of its 12th Big East regular-season championship in 13 seasons. Rutgers, which already has earned at least a share of its second straight regular-season championship, is looking to become the first team other than the Huskies to win consecutive championships since Miami (1991-92, 1992-93).

"I'm glad they set it up just like that," UConn senior Willnett Crockett said. "And knowing that if we do what we need to do, we can win it all. So that's a good thing. When you play a team like Rutgers, who is obviously good, if we can beat them on their home floor it will say something about us."

The Huskies, who are 9-1 on the road this season, are looking to avenge a 60-56 loss to the Scarlet Knights at Gampel Pavilion Feb. 7. UConn shot 33.9 percent from the field, including 24.2 percent in the first half, only to find itself in position to tie the game or take the lead with 22 seconds left. But a play designed by coach Geno Auriemma during a timeout broke down.

The sentiment is that UConn has learned from its failures in the first meeting. It has won five straight games, albeit in less than spectacular fashion, since then to lift itself to the brink of a championship.

"I think our best basketball's still ahead of us," Auriemma said. "I hope I'm not saying that for the rest of the season, but I think we've got some good basketball left in us that we haven't played yet. So there's a lot that still has to come together for us and hopefully it'll be (tonight) that it happens."

Auriemma reiterated Saturday that sophomore guard Mel Thomas, who sprained her right ankle in the second half at Syracuse Wednesday, "probably" will not play for the second straight game. He did, however, leave the door open for a possible Willis Reed-type return.

Thomas did some running and shooting Saturday morning. After UConn's 74-59 victory over Marquette that night, she said she believed she could play.

"She was running around the court (Saturday), 'look, look,' like some 5-year old," Auriemma said. "Like running around and shooting and dribbling. Then when (trainer) Rosemary (Ragle) came out she pretended like she was limping. But who knows with Mel? Anything's possible. I'm say she's probably not playing, but I don't want to rule anything out."

The Huskies could use her perimeter presence against red-hot Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights, who defeated UConn 76-62 at home last season, have won a season-high 11 straight games.

They have arguably the best backcourt in the country in senior All-American Cappie Pondexter (21.1 ppg, 3.5a) and sophomore Matee Ajavon (12.2 ppg, 4.3 apg). They possess blinding quickness at numerous positions. And with 6-foot-4 freshman Kia Vaughn and resurgent 6-2 senior forward Michelle Campbell, they have muscle up front.

Still, Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer said Sunday that she doesn't see Rutgers as the favorite tonight.

"The win that we had against them (Feb. 7) really didn't matter much," Stringer said. "One game for us isn't going to say, 'Hey, we're the big shots of the Big East. Connecticut will come in as the favorite. There's no question about that."

The setting is perfect. This is exactly what the Huskies wanted. And Rutgers, surely, would like to clinch the championship outright at home at UConn's expense.

"I think it's real important (to win the championship) because we haven't had a year in our career where we've won both," Turner said. "So I think that's something that we've talked about also as being part of being a part of our legacy to be able to say that we won both regular season and tournament championships. So that's something we also have in the back of our minds going into (tonight) and hopefully we can carry that attitude onto the floor."