The Final Four is set with North Carolina, Gonzaga, Oregon and South Carolina winning their respective regions. If you had these teams as the last ones standing through the first two weeks of the NCAA Tournament you best double up and buy yourself some lottery tickets! The Tar Heels are the only program familiar with this stage after falling in the title game at the gun last season. That said, each of the other three teams are currently playing some exceptional basketball. The desert will only get hotter once all four teams take to the hardwood on Saturday night!
Don't miss any of the 2017 NCAA tournament with the Final Four taking place at University of Phoenix Stadium in Phoenix, AZ on April 1, 2017. Catch every moment of the games live on CBS.
ODDS TO WIN 2017 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Gonzaga +150
North Carolina +120
Oregon +500
South Carolina +600
North Carolina Tar Heels +120
That wake-up call the Arkansas Razorbacks gave the Tar Heels looked to be just what the doctor ordered to get Roy Williams’ squad back to playing the type of ball that saw it dominate all season long. Justin Jackson and Joel Berry II thrived versus Butler combining for 50 points to lead the team to the 92-80 win and cover. It was only fitting Luke Maye hit the game winner against Kentucky since he single-handedly allowed for the Tar Heels to overcome the young Wildcats in the late stages of the game. UNC possesses the most electric offense of the Final Four entrants, but its defense leaves cause for concern. It does however own a huge advantage in the experience department, so that’s why they’re the odds on favorites to cut down the nets.
Gonzaga Bulldogs +150
The Zags looked horrendous in two of their three played games leading up to Saturday’s scary tilt against upset-minded Xavier. The Musketeers proved to be no match with the Bulldogs going on to convert 29 of 61 overall shots taken which included a stellar 12 of 24 effort from beyond the arc. The X-Men dared Gonzaga to beat them from deep, and that’s exactly what Nigel Williams-Goss and company did en route to securing the impressive 83-59 win and cover as 8.5 point favorites. There likely wasn’t a team remaining in this field that would have beat Gonzaga that day. Still, they missed almost half their free throws and that’s something Mark Few and his staff will have to remedy as the program looks to win its first ever NCAA Tournament.
Oregon Ducks +500
The Ducks were the cream of the crop in the Pac-12 throughout the regular season regardless of them sharing the title with the Arizona Wildcats. If you took that into account and ignored the huge loss of Chris Boucher, you were rewarded handsomely these last couple weeks with the Quack Attack covering three of its four games. It flat out dominated what proved to be a clueless Kansas team with its defense. The unit limited the Jayhawks to a pedestrian 35.0 percent showing from the field and more or less took both Devonte’ Graham and Josh Jackson out of the game forcing Frank Mason to shoulder the scoring load. If it can do that against UNC’s top scorers and Jordan Bell can body up with Kennedy Meeks and company, there’s not a doubt in my mind that Dana Altman’s kids will be cutting the nets down come Monday night.
South Carolina Gamecocks +600
Only Xavier had longer odds to win the Big Dance heading into last week’s Sweet 16 round. Frank Martin’s kids wasted no time in letting the linemakers know they made a grave mistake by trouncing Baylor 70-50 behind another sterling defensive effort in limiting the Bears to just over 30 percent shooting from the field. Sindarius Thornwell has been nothing short of a baller throughout this tournament in averaging 25.8 points per game and coming up with huge bucket after huge bucket. This team has the size and ability to defend the perimeter to give Gonzaga all kinds of problems. If it finds a way to get by the Zags, this Cinderella story will have to dig deep to see it all the way through. The way they’re playing right now though, I wouldn’t put it past them.
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