Obama picks Kansas in his final NCAA bracket as President
President Barack Obama announced a new Supreme Court nominee Wednesday, but first took part in his annual tradition of revealing his NCAA bracket with ESPN’s Andy Katz.
This is Obama’s last bracket from the nation’s highest office, and he picked the nation’s top seed, Kansas, to win the title. According to ESPN, Obama hasn’t correctly chosen a winner since he took North Carolina in 2009, his first year in office.
Obama also picked Kansas in 2010 and 2011.
"Bill Self owes me,'' Obama joked while filling out a bracket with Katz. "I'm putting Kansas in here. Coach, I'm just teasing. I'm not putting pressure on you. But I think the Jayhawks in a squeaker get past UNC.''
The President chose Texas A&M, a three-seed, and Michigan State, a two-seed, to round out his Final Four and explained to Katz why he stuck with the top teams in his bracket:
“The truth is I am just not knowledgeable enough with all the teams these days to be able to pick somebody who is an eight-seed to win the tournament. I have a tendency to pick the coach as much as anything. Coach K or Coach Izzo or Coach Self or Coach Calipari … they know how to take — even if they are blue-chip freshmen — and mold them so that by the time the tournament comes around they are ready.
“Generally speaking, I haven’t always picked the right of the top four teams, but typically it’s been one of the top four seeds that’s ended up winning.”
President Obama picks Kansas over UNC in his #MarchMadness bracket. https://t.co/wnb20OF8ZY pic.twitter.com/KNZXIoMJNg
— Alex Cervasio (@cvas) March 16, 2016
