“They had the toughest schedule”: College hoops fans take their pick between Dawn Staley’s South Carolina and Cori Close's UCLA for no. 1 overall seed

Dawn Staley's South Carolina and Cori Close's UCLA Bruins have made a strong case for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Despite losing star center Kamilla Cardoso, the Gamecocks remained a force, boasting one of the toughest schedules among powerhouse programs, facing 13 ranked opponents.

The Bruins took no time adjusting to the Big Ten landscape. With a mix of big in Lauren Betts, talented guard in Kiki Rice and developing impact player in Gabriela Jaquez, the school mounted 24 straight wins after shifting from the Pac 12 conference. The program had the No. 1 spot on the AP Poll for 14 out of 19 weeks of the season.

With the season finished and predictions rolling out for March Madness, ESPNW enquired fans about their opinions on which team is more deserving to earn the No. 1 overall spot on Selection Sunday through an IG post on Monday.

Fans rushed to the comment section, with some leaning towards Dawn Staley and the Gamecocks.

"South Carolina, they played the toughest schedule out of everyone. Just my thoughts.," a fan wrote.

"Don’t care that UCLA beat us! Our schedule was much more complicated than most! Crown us please ❤️," another user added.

"SC should be #1. But Keep Sc at 2 and watch them work.," a South Carolina fan commented.

Few fans debated Cori Close's case:

"I’m an SC fan, but UCLA beat us … can’t argue with that.," a user wrote.

"Gamecocks S🐔S is better, but UCLA did beat us earlier in the season. 🤷," another Gamecocks fan added.

"It’s pretty clear it’s UCLA. How is this even a question," a Bruins fan commented.

Fans debate Dawn Staley's Gamecocks and UCLA's chances for the No. 1 seed | via @espnw/IG

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Dawn Staley and Cori Close led their teams past their biggest challenges of the season

South Carolina's toughest opponent this year was Texas, which forced the Gamecocks to end the season with a hump. They also challenged Dawn Staley's team for the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament. However, the defending champions clinched that behind a coin flip.

When Texas met them again in the conference championship game, Staley's roster shunned them 64-45, winning its third consecutive league title.

Cori Close did the same for UCLA in the Big Ten Tournament. The team met the USC Trojans twice in the regular season, losing both contests by at least nine points. The two losses prevented them from being the top dogs of the league, handing them the 2nd spot.

However, when JuJu Watkins and Co. met the Bruins in the conference championship game, the Blue and Gold handed them a 72-67 loss to win its first-ever Big Ten Tournament trophy.