President Obama picked Kansas to win it all in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament — the third time he’s picked the Jayhawks, who have never lived up to the president’s confidence by taking home the title.
NCAA Bracket 2016: President Obama’s March Madness tournament picks
Libby Nelson was Vox’s editorial director, politics and policy, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.
Besides Kansas, Obama’s Final Four included UNC, Texas A&M, and Michigan State, showing his usual tendency to pick top-ranked teams (although Texas A&M is a No. 3 seed and Michigan State is a No. 2). But this year Obama was free of the pressure of electoral politics. When he was up for re-election in 2012, his bracket tended to suspiciously favor battleground states.
For the women’s tournament, Obama picked UConn to win it all — a safe bet, as the team has won three straight championships — and Florida State, South Carolina, and Notre Dame to round out the Final Four.
If you’re running behind filling out your bracket and need a presidential cue, here are Obama’s picks. But he doesn’t have the greatest record, partly because he tends not to pick upsets.
Along with Obama’s bracket, the White House posted a letter from an 11-year-old girl whose bracket did better than the president’s last year. “I just wanted to tell you that I saw your 2015 NCAA bracket pick and I beat you,” she wrote. “You are a great president, just not the best bracket picker.”
Here are Obama’s picks for the final rounds
Men’s Championship: Kansas vs. UNC
Men’s Final Four: UNC, Texas A&M, Michigan State, Kansas
Men’s Elite Eight: Kansas, Villanova, Duke, Texas A&M, UNC, West Virginia, UVA, Michigan State
And for the women’s tournament:
Women’s championship: UConn vs. Notre Dame
Women’s Final Four: UConn, Florida State, South Carolina, Notre Dame
Women’s Elite Eight: UConn, Texas, Florida State, Louisville, South Carolina, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Maryland
