The former President thinks Virginia and Villanova will be dancing until April in this year's tournament.
- Obama's Final Four consists of Virginia, Villanova, North Carolina, and Michigan State.
- He has Michigan State winning it all.
March Madness is back, and Barack Obama, arguably the country's most famous college basketball fan, is clearly excited, as he has released his bracket for this year's men's and women's tournaments.
"Just because I have more time to watch games doesn’t mean my picks will be better, but here are my brackets this year," the 44th President joked on Twitter.
The former leader of the free world was for the most part feeling chalky this year, as he picked two 1-seeds — Virginia and Villanova — plus North Carolina, a 2-seed, to make the Final Four.
For his national title choice, Obama picked Tom Izzo and his Michigan State Spartans, a 3-seed, to cut down the nets this April. On the women's side, Obama has Connecticut winning it all.
With the exception of the third-seeded Spartans, on the men's side, Obama's Elite Eight consists entirely of matchups between the top two seeds.
As far as upsets go, Obama is predicting New Mexico State to beat Clemson in a 12-seed/5-seed upset, 11th-seed Loyola-Chicago to triumph over sixth-seeded Miami, and every 10th-seed but Providence to win in the first round.
An article in the New York Times notes that Obama's track record when it comes to first round upsets is "a sterling 28-24," so when you're filling out your bracket, it's not a bad idea to try and be like Barack.
As far as the current U.S. President is concerned, ESPN reports that he will not be filling out a bracket this year.
More March Madness:
- Here's your complete guide to when and where to watch March Madness
- How to watch March Madness online and on TV
- A beginner's guide to filling out a March Madness bracket
- Here are the most likely March Madness upsets according to Las Vegas
- The 14 best bets to make on the NCAA Tournament before your bracket gets busted