Final Four 2017: Odds and Predictions for Teams Seeking NCAA Title Game Berth

There's March Madness...and then there's March Madness 2017, which has proved to be even wilder than its billing would have suggested. 

The four teams that compose this year's Final Four are ones few would have predicted.

Our underdog is No. 7 South Carolina, a team that finished third in the SEC and secured a berth to the Final Four for the first time in program history. After all, the Gamecocks hadn't even won an NCAA tournament game in the last 44 years. 

Joining South Carolina as a member of the first-timers club is Gonzaga, whose seeding (No. 1) does not necessarily mesh with past achievements in the tournament. Finally, the Bulldogs appear ready to achieve what recent history has suggested they've been capable of.

No. 3 Oregon has been here before, but few people reading this article were even alive when it happened. The year was 1939, and though the Ducks made the Elite Eight as recently as last year, this is a whole different ballgame. 

Finally, there's last year's runner-up North Carolina, which got its heart broken as Villanova won 77-74 to claim the NCAA championship title in 2016 and rejoice in the opening notes of "One Shining Moment."

Let's take a look at the odds for these Final Four contenders, via OddsShark, and then make some predictions about the upcoming matchups on Saturday, April 1. 

Date	Matchups	Time (ET)	Spread	Prediction
April 1	South Carolina (7) vs. Gonzaga (1)	6:09 p.m.	Gonzaga (-6.5)	Gonzaga
April 1	Oregon (3) vs. North Carolina (1)	8:49 p.m.	North Carolina (-4.5)	North Carolina

South Carolina vs. Gonzaga

The Gamecocks continue to defy the odds, but it's hard to see them finding a way past Gonzaga and into the NCAA championship game. 

South Carolina's strength lies in its scoring prowess. Sindarius Thornwell is averaging 21.6 points per game, while PJ Dozier averages 13.8 points per game. The Gamecocks were able to undo Florida thanks to their offensive efficiency. 

South Carolina also had to defeat Duke and Baylor en route to this opportunity—no small feat. That might be more impressive than Gonzaga's path, which took it through Northwestern and West Virginia. 

However, the Bulldogs have gotten so close so many times, and they can now taste triumph. They are a well-coached team that is better prepared to face the circus that is the NCAA Final Four and all the distractions that surround it. 

That's not to say that Gonzaga has this in the bag. As ESPN's Dana O'Neil pointed out, "Gonzaga's arena seats 6,000. The Bulldogs will play in front of 70,000 on Saturday at [the] University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona."

For these two squads, whichever one wins will be making the NCAA championship game for the first time ever. That's must-see TV.

Prediction: Gonzaga wins by two

Oregon vs. North Carolina 

The first matchup of the Final Four is more balanced; this one feels as lopsided as they come.

Despite the fact that the Gamecocks are a seventh seed matched up against a No. 1 seed in Gonzaga, those two teams are well-matched.

However, No. 3 Oregon could be in way over its head with perennial contender UNC, which is on a revenge tour after falling to Villanova in last year's title game.

The Tar Heels needed every last second of regulation to advance past Kentucky in the Elite Eight and just barely did so to the tune of 75-73. This squad isn't unbeatable. 

Still, UNC is a well-oiled machine led by the talents of Joel Berry II even if it was Luke Maye who scored 17 points and drained that game-winning shot to send his squad to the Final Four. 

The Ducks showed their mettle when they held off heavyweight Kansas to advance to the Final Four. Still, this feels like it could be North Carolina's year; if Oregon keeps it up, it'll have many more to come than it has had over the last 75 years. 

Prediction: North Carolina wins by four