The South Carolina Gamecocks, coached by Dawn Staley, are preparing for their national championship defense in March Madness this year. They are heading into the winner-take-all tournament as the No. 2 overall seed while playing in the Birmingham II Regional.
The Gamecocks, with standouts like MiLaysia Fulwiley, won their fourth straight Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and fourth SEC Tournament title in five years.
Staley's squad recently partnered with their jersey and gear provider, Under Armour, to hype up the national tournament with a teaser that features popular YouTube group RDC World.
Under Armour's social media team posted the 30-second video on X on Monday with the caption:
"LET THEM TALK," with a shush emoji.
The start of the promotional material includes:
"POV: It's that time of the year, and you've heard it all."
In the video, the Gamecocks run drills and practice while coached by Dawn Staley, while several members of RDC World portray the negativity South Carolina has faced this season.
Desmond Johnson starts things off as the "away team fan" from the stands. Then, the camera pans to Benjamin Skinner acting as an "opposing coach." Then, Leland Manigo portrays a courtside hecker, before Dylan Patel is "Mr. I Can Do That Too," trying to defend Chloe Kitts and Co. Mark Phillips then caps things off as the "biased sports announcer" before all members of RDC World collectively give up trying to stop the Gamecocks.
The video ends with the South Carolina players side by side as Staley assumes the shush pose to close things off.
The Gamecocks' national tournament run starts with the first round on Friday against the 16th-seeded Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on their home floor.
For the fifth straight season, the South Carolina Gamecocks are the No. 1 seed in their region
The South Carolina Gamecocks (30-3), under the tutelage of Dawn Staley, are the No. 1 seed of their region (Birmingham II) for the fifth straight season since 2021. The UCLA Bruins broke their streak of being the top seed overall.
The Gamecocks are looking to win their third national title in the last four seasons (and fourth overall) after they won it all in 2022 and once again in 2024.
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