Fansided

Barack Obama releases his March Madness brackets

By Thomas Wheaton

WASHINGTON - MAY 11: University of North Carolina Men's basketball head coach Roy Williams (L) presents U.S. President Barack Obama with a team jersey at the White House May 11, 2009 in Washington, DC. The North Carolina Tar Heels are the 2009 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I national champions. A basketball fan, Obama picked the Tar Heels to win in his March Madness bracket. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON - MAY 11: University of North Carolina Men's basketball head coach Roy Williams (L) presents U.S. President Barack Obama with a team jersey at the White House May 11, 2009 in Washington, DC. The North Carolina Tar Heels are the 2009 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I national champions. A basketball fan, Obama picked the Tar Heels to win in his March Madness bracket. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Ah, the best time of the year. March is here and that means March Madness is among us. Former president Barack Obama released his picks; how do they stack up against yours?

Former president Barack Obama had a tradition of televising making his picks for the annual NCAA tournament. Although he is not in office, he is still releasing his picks for the tournament to the nation.

Jokingly, he added that despite being able to watch more of the games, his picks will not be any better:

He released both the men’s and women’s tournament bracket. As the saying goes, ladies first. Obama has all four of the No. 1 seeds in the final four. UConn, Mississippi State, Notre Dame and Louisville all emerge from their respective regional unscathed. That does not mean Obama has no upsets, however.

Obama picked three of the four No. 9 seeds to advance, with Marquette being the only No. 8 he picked. He also had two No. 10 seeds and two No. 11 seeds advancing from their first-round games. However, there is no room for any Cinderella teams, as his sweet sixteen has nothing lower than a No. 5 seed. Obama picked the favorites to come out on top, but made sure to pick several upsets in the first round.

Now on to the men’s tournament. Again, Obama has three of the No. 9 seeds advancing in the first round. He also has three No. 10 seeds defeating their No. 7 seed opponents with Providence as the No. 10 seed to lose. The biggest upset Obama picked in the first round is No. 12 seed New Mexico State over No. 5 seed Clemson.

A lot of people are high on New Mexico State this year; perhaps Obama has been doing some studying.

Next: NBA prospects to watch: East Region

Obama’s final four is fairly standard with Virginia, North Carolina, Villanova and Michigan State. This group includes the No. 1 ranked team in the country, last year’s champions, the arguable best team and the sleeper everyone is picking, respectively.

Obama’s champion is Michigan State over Virginia in the final. Obama’s picks make a lot of sense, and there’s a chance he gets quite a few of them right.

Home/March Madness