- The former president has been releasing his tournament brackets since 2009
- He has picked the men’s winner twice and the women’s champion six times
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
Former President Barack Obama has released his NCAA Basketball bracket ahead of the first round of March Madness beginning Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the 44th President continued his yearly tradition of revealing his picks to be crowned the men’s and women’s national champions.
The 62-year-old played it safe with his men’s bracket, opting for just a few upsets in the first round.
In the later rounds, Obama stuck to the tried-and-tested successful programs with reigning champions UConn, Baylor, Kentucky and Purdue clinching his Final Four spots.
He ultimately plumped for UConn to go back-to-back, defeating Kentucky in the final.
Barack Obama has released his bracket ahead of the first round of March Madness
The former President plumped for UConn to go back-to-back, defeating Kentucky in the final
He predicted the South Carolina Gamecocks would be lifting the women’s trophy in Cleveland
Obama lifted the lid on the decision process behind his bracket selection with his brother-in-law Craig Robinson on the former Oregon State head coach’s new podcast, ‘Ways to win’, with Kentucky coach John Calipari on Tuesday.
‘I’m going a little chalk this year and I think UConn is going to take it,’ he said as he made a guest appearance on the podcast’s first-ever episode. ‘I’ve got UConn, Kentucky, Purdue and in the west my big upset, I’m picking Baylor over USC.
‘So I didn’t go completely chalk. All teams have bad games but you want to finish strong going into the tournament and I looked at that, and I still have Houston getting to the Elite Eight but I think Kentucky beats them.’
Meanwhile, he similarly didn’t stray too far from the favorites when it came to picking his women’s bracket either.
He went for three No. 1 seeds – South Carolina, Southern California and Iowa – and No. 2 seed Stanford for his Final Four.
He predicted the Gamecocks would be lifting the trophy in Cleveland after dispatching Iowa.
‘Here is my tradition, women I tend to go chalk,’ he explained. ‘Just because unlike men’s college basketball, the superstars stay in college for as long as they can, like Caitlin [Clark]. So, as a consequence, upsets are more rare in women’s basketball than they are now in men’s college basketball.
‘So I have South Carolina winning full stop. It’s not just because they have great depth, I love my some Dawn Staley. She’s just got swag.’
The 44th president picked Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team to win the women’s tournament
The 62-year-old is a keen basketball fan and has been seen attending NBA games in the past
Obama began releasing his brackets for the men’s tournament in 2009 and the women’s in 2010.
He has correctly predicted the winner of the men’s championship twice with North Carolina in 2017 and 2009.
He’s had more success in the women’s tournament, correctly guessing the winner six times, including UConn three times in a row in 2014-16.
The former president is a keen basketball fan and has been seen attending NBA games in the past.
March Madness brings out the competitive side in nearly everyone, with millions around the country filling out a bracket and placing their bets.
Better-seeded teams are given the advantage and look like a sure thing to go far in the tournament.
But every year there are serious upsets – and the art of bracket-picking involves correctly choosing when those upsets might occur.
