The President of the United States has spiced things up this week by filling out his NCAA March Madness brackets for both the men's and women's tournaments, sharing his winning picks.
"Folks, it's time for college basketball’s biggest tournament. I wish the best of luck to all the teams competing," President Joe Biden said in a social media post sharing his predictions.
He locked in his Final Four picks for the women's tournament: South Carolina, Stanford, UConn, and UCLA. For the men's tournament, he also went with powerhouse selections: UConn, Houston, North Carolina, and Kansas. His bet for the winners? Riding on South Carolina's unbeatable momentum for the Women's National Championship, and banking on top-seeded UConn to triumph over North Carolina in the Men's National Championship.
"I’m picking South Carolina Women's Basketball to win it all, and in the Men’s bracket the Huskies to go back-to-back," President Biden said in a tweet.
Folks, it's time for college basketball’s biggest tournament. I wish the best of luck to all the teams competing.
I’m picking South Carolina Women's Basketball to win it all, and in the Men’s bracket the Huskies to go back-to-back. pic.twitter.com/3Bf8xGuSTy
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 20, 2024
Sharing college basketball brackets is a tradition former President Barack Obama started in 2009. Back then, he put all his marbles on North Carolina to win the Men's NCAA Tournament, and they did just that.
"My bracket was beautiful, and people were pretty impressed. They thought, 'Look at the President of the United States; he's in the top 4% of all the people who enter in their brackets.' And I was kind of feeling it, and I thought, 'You know what? I think this is what's going to happen every year,'" Obama said on the "Ways to Win" podcast. "And I'm pretty sure each year I've lost since then. So I have not necessarily picked a winner. And I'm a little sad about that."
So, of course, he had to share his picks this year to try to snatch another win.
In his men's tournament bracket, the 44th president selected UConn, Baylor, Kentucky, and Purdue as his Final Four contenders, and just like his bestie Biden, he chose top-seeded UConn to take the W.
In the women's tournament, Obama chose South Carolina, Southern California, Iowa, and Stanford as his Final Four, predicting — again matching his best bud's vibes — that the Gamecocks would take home the championship trophy.
Obama did ask for a favor, though: "Please don’t rub it in when my bracket gets busted."
My picks are in! I sat down to talk about them with @CraigMalRob and @UKCoachCalipari on their podcast Ways To Win from @HGMedia. Check out our conversation wherever you get your podcasts. And please don’t rub it in when my bracket gets busted. https://t.co/pVLfuHjYmo pic.twitter.com/la2NTDh1z7
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 19, 2024