When Pat Summitt’s Tennessee Volunteers come to town, there has never been any doubt about the magnitude of the game for the Kentucky Wildcats or any other team for that matter. With Tennessee having dominated women’s college basketball in the Southeastern Conference for more than 20 years, the motivation to knock off the powerful Lady Vols has always been there.The Wildcats have long considered Tennessee a rival, but with Matthew Mitchell leading UK Hoops, the rivalry is finally starting to become mutual.No. 16/18 Kentucky (18-4, 7-2 SEC) will host No. 5/4Tennessee (21-2, 9-0 SEC) at 9 p.m. Monday on ESPN2 and Mitchell has no qualms about admitting how important the game is to his team.”It’s Armageddon,” Mitchell quipped when asked how big the game was on a scale of zero to Armageddon. “It will be a big game for sure.”Kentucky’s win over Auburn on Thursday kept the Wildcats in a tie for second place in the SEC and two games behind the Vols, who are a perfect 9-0 in league play. The Wildcats are contending for the SEC crown for a second consecutive season, but seeing Tennessee at the top of the standings is a familiar sight.”Tennessee shows up and plays very consistently and they’ve done it over and over for many years in this league,” Mitchell said.While Kentucky has had some good teams in recent years, the program is beginning to show some of the signs of consistency that measure the true greatness of a program. UK had a banner season in 2009-10 that ended in a run to the Elite Eight, but the team’s sustained success this year in spite of integrating six newcomers is evidence the program may be ready to compete with Tennessee on an annual basis.Under Mitchell, Kentucky has shown it is capable of competing with Tennessee on the floor and actually winning, especially in Lexington. Over the past two seasons, the Wildcats and Vols have faced off four times with Summitt’s bunch winning three. However, UK has stayed within eight points or less in two of the losses, and Tennessee’s last trip to Memorial Coliseum in 2009 ended in a 66-56 UK victory.While Mitchell freely admitted that the game is a big one, he minimized the difference between playing Tennessee and playing other SEC squads.”I think, for us, every time we take the floor in the Southeastern Conference, there are three things that you have to do,” Mitchell said. “With Tennessee and the talent they have and the firepower they have, you have to raise your level a little bit see what you can do.”The first area that Mitchell cited was hustle.”Can you out-hustle your opponent and win those 50-50 plays where you have a chance and the other team has a chance to come up with the ball?” Mitchell said.Second was rebounding, which Mitchell called particular attention to in light of Tennessee’s proficiency in that department.”It takes a lot of hard work to rebound in this league and to win that battle on the board,” Mitchell explained. “Tennessee’s probably one of the powerful rebounding teams in the country and certainly statistically the best rebounding team in our league.”Lastly, Mitchell talked about turnovers.”Can you somehow find a way to have the discipline on offense to take care of it and on defense play hard enough and play disciplined enough to carry out your assignments and turn the other team over?” Mitchell said.Since a three-game losing skid that spanned the team’s final nonconference game against Duke and its first two conference games, UK has succeeded in those areas, leading to a seven-game winning streak that has set up Monday’s game in Memorial as such a can’t-miss affair.”I think we’re very excited (about the game),” senior forward Victoria Dunlap said. “I know I am. I talked to a couple of my teammates about it and we’re excited. Tennessee is a great team, they’re ranked top five in the country, and we have a great opportunity to go out here and win the game.”When you consider the fact that UK has knocked off Tennessee two of the last three times in Lexington and Kentucky’s rise in the SEC, it’s not just a big game because Tennessee is coming to town. It’s a big game because it carries weight for both teams for the rest of hte season.”Really, every game for us is big, but right now we’re in a position to be in the upper echelon of the conference and Tennessee’s at the top right now,” Mitchell said. “We need to see if we can take some steps forward because we’re trying to get to the top too, so it’s definitely a big game for us.”As if all of that were not enough, adding to the intrigue are the close ties between the two programs. Mitchell was a graduate assistant for a season under Summitt while assistants Kyra Elzy and Shalon Pillow played at Tennessee. Tying everyone together is former UK head coach Mickie DeMoss, who returned to as assistant coaching role at Tennessee after leaving UK in 2007. DeMoss has had a major impact on the careers of Mitchell, Elzy and Pillow, having hired Mitchell as an assistant at UK and coached both Elzy and Pillow.”I would not be standing here talking to you right now if it weren’t for Mickie DeMoss,” Mitchell said. “I love her and she has done more for me than any single person in my life professionally. I know she’s very influential with both the women on our staff that played there.”Mitchell won’t have any trouble putting that aside when the teams take the floor. The Vols are too talented for him to think about anything else. Mitchell said this Tennessee team fits the mold of dominant Summitt-coached teams of the past.”A typical Tennessee team is first of all unbelievably talented,” Mitchell said. “There’s no one in our conference over the last 15, 20, 30 years who’s done a better job recruiting than Pat Summitt. Tennessee is the most talented team in our conference without a doubt.” Even though Tennessee remains the gold standard for SEC basketball, the Wildcats are starting to earn the Volunteers’ attention. Mitchell’s staff has landed some very high profile recruits, most recently UConn transfer Samarie Walker, signaling UK’s ascent.Ultimately, though, it’s about what happens on the floor.”I think they are (starting to look at Kentucky differently),” Dunlap said. “We’re starting to show the SEC and the entire country that Kentucky basketball is not just about the guys; it’s about the girls too. Our program has changed. Teams have to be ready to play us.”With so much on the line Monday night, it’s a safe bet that both squads will be ready to play.