“They just spanked them”: Hoops analyst hails Dawn Staley’s South Carolina after “dismantling" Texas; backs 3-peat chances for March Madness

ESPN's Elle Duncan experienced how Dawn Staley's South Carolina can take over a contest on Sunday. The Gamecocks handed Texas a one-sided 64-45 defeat in the SEC championship game.

Duncan summarized the win's significance for Staley's team while speaking to Gary Striewski in the latest episode of "The Elle Duncan Show." She said that the win is a reminder of what the defending champions can achieve in the biggest games of the year.

"It was a great reminder of who South Carolina is," she said (at 2:58). "What an emphatic statement for South Carolina to make. They say, 'Is this your king?'

"They take the number one overall seed, Texas, and they just spanked them. I mean it was an absolute dismantling, of a very good Texas team by the way."

Duncan asserts that Staley is still a potent leader in the race for the 2025 NCAA tournament.

"Three losses in the season and people wanted to start putting dirt on it (SC's championship chances), I think this was a reminder."

Stepping into the SEC championship game, both teams were 1-1 against each other this season. Fans and pundits expected both teams to churn a tight game at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

Dawn Staley believes South Carolina should earn the No. 1 seed

As the defending champs lifted the conference trophy, they also earned a sure-shot ticket to the biggest Division I basketball event of the year - the NCAA tournament.

Dawn Staley believes that her team should be placed at the top of the bracket, noting the difficulty of the schedule and the opponents the team faced.

"When you win this tournament and you played the schedule that we played, I do think we're the number one overall seed no matter what it ends up being," she said (at 9:38). "We again manufactured our schedule to put ourselves in this situation. I just hope the committee doesn't discount our entire resume.

"There isn't anybody in the country that has played the schedule that we've played, that's won this share of the regular season and then winning the tournament, having beat the number one team in the country."

Cori Close's UCLA is Dawn Staley's biggest contender for the top overall seed. The Bruins, like the Gamecocks, overcame their biggest challenge in the Big Ten championship game and pose a 30-2 season run.