March Madness has most certainly lived up to its name over the past week, and after several crazy twists and turns, just four teams remain. Sixty-four have packed their bags and gone home, and just the four regional winners are left standing: Gonzaga, North Carolina, Oregon and South Carolina. Gonzaga and North Carolina are top seeds and were expected to be standing, but third-seeded Oregon’s presence is a shock, and few would have predicted South Carolina would be representing the east rather than Villanova, Duke, Baylor or Florida.
Clearly, South Carolina is the huge underdog at 9/1 with William Hill and Ladbrokes, while North Carolina (6/4 with Sky Bet) and Gonzaga (13/8 with Ladbrokes) are heavily favoured, but this is March Madness and anything can happen. First up is South Carolina v Gonzaga, so we have previewed that one and we will feature the other game later this week.
South Carolina Gamecocks v Gonzaga Bulldogs
Gonzaga went into the tournament with the best regular season record of anyone and was among the favourites to win it. The Zags’ route to the final was made all the easier when 11th seed Xavier beat second seed Arizona in the Sweet 16. Arizona was the second seed and many expected the Wildcats to topple Gonzaga. Instead, they played Xavier in the Elite Eight and won by a huge 24-point margin, by far the heaviest win in the round.
South Carolina’s journey to the Final Four has been far less orthodox. The seventh-seeded Gamecocks were expected to crash out in the Second Round, where they faced pre-season favourite Duke, which had the best team on paper in the entire tournament. But South Carolina exploited Duke’s defensive weaknesses and earned a resounding 88-81 victory. They then played third seed Baylor in the Sweet 16 and defied their status as seven-point underdogs by absolutely thrashing the Bears, winning 70-50. They then knocked out fourth seed Florida in the Elite Eight and have earned themselves a place in the Final Four for the first time ever.
South Carolina’s superb defence has got them this far. It has the second best defence in the country now, but Gonzaga has the best. Gonzaga’s offence is also scoring a lot more points than the Gamecocks. Gonzaga should win this, but whether they can cover the spread is another matter as South Carolina is scrapping really well. South Carolina +8.5 at 8/13 with Betway looks good.
Futures Update
If Gonzaga gets past South Carolina it will face North Carolina or Oregon. The Tar Heels were pre-tournament favourites and have excelled in beating some excellent teams, so expect them to get the better of Oregon. That would be a sensational final and it’s easy to envisage a tight game that could be won by a single point. North Carolina’s Roy Williams is on course for a third NCAA Championship, while Gonzaga’s Mark Few has never before reached the final four, so that experience could swing it, but it will be tight.
