Dawn Staley Makes Plea to NCAA Selection Committee for South Carolina No. 1 Seed

South Carolina Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley made a clear case for her team receiving a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Mar 8, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley yells to her team during the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team advanced to the SEC Conference Tournament championship game after they defeated the Oklahoma Sooners by a score of 93-75 on Saturday. They will be facing the winner of No. 9 ranked LSU and No. 1 ranked Texas (who they took the SEC Tournament's top seed from because of a coin toss) on Sunday.

There's no doubt that Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley's team is among the best in the country. However, considering that they lost three regular season games (the most regular season losses one of Staley's squads has accrued since the program's 2020-21 campaign), them securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament would seemingly still be up in the air, especially if they don't win the SEC Tournament.

But Staley still made a powerful plea that the Gamecocks deserve a No. 1 seed during an appearance on ESPN after her team's win on Saturday.

"It's not us. It's the NCAA Selection Committee has to," Staley said, per an X post from ABC Columbia's Chaz R. Frazier. "I mean, we play the best schedule in the country, we had the toughest schedule. Did we have a bad game vs. Connecticut? Sure. But don't discount what we did all season long. Don't do that. It ain't that time, it ain't that time to do that.

"We go out and we play the toughest schedule, manufactured so we can get a No. 1 seed, if not the overall No. 1 seed," Staley continued. "So we put ourselves in a position by getting to the [SEC Tournament] finals, and hopefully whatever team ends up winning [the Texas vs. LSU] game, we can solidify our No. 1 seed."

Soon after that, ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme came on air and said, "Coach, your 1 seed is solidified. Don't worry about it. Get a good night's sleep, try to win tomorrow's game, but it won't matter whether you win tomorrow's game as far as the No. 1 seed thing goes."

Dawn Staley with a post-game message to the NCAA selection committee:

"Did we have a bad game vs. Connecticut? Sure. But don't discount what we did all season long."

Minutes later, Charlie Cream with a message to Dawn:

"Coach, your 1 seed is solidified."

🎥: ESPN pic.twitter.com/t4wBh2jcPh

— Chaz R Frazier (@Chazf_tv) March 9, 2025

Creme's comment must be music to Staley's ears.