Hours before March Madness tips off, President Barack Obama has continued his annual tradition. On Thursday, the former president unveiled his NCAA tournament brackets for the men's and women's side.
Obama, a noted basketball fan and former player, has selected two favorites as his winners, picking Duke to win the men's bracket over Florida in the final, and South Carolina to win the women's over UCLA.
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For the men's Final Four, Obama predicts four high-seeded teams: No. 1 seeds Auburn, Duke and Florida and No. 2-seeded Tennessee. His bracket for the women's Final Four includes No. 1 seeds UCLA, USC and South Carolina, and No. 3 seed Notre Dame.
I’m cutting it close, but here are my #MarchMadness picks. Who do you have winning it all?
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 20, 2025
This year, three of our @MBK_Alliance students will be going down to the Final Four to learn from the people who make it all run. We can’t wait to hear more about their experience. pic.twitter.com/kL5Wc3RlkE
On the men's side, Obama has selected a number of upsets in the first round, including No. 11 North Carolina over No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Arkansas over No. 7 Kansas, No. 11 VCU over No. 6 BYU, No. 10 Vanderbilt over No. 7 Saint Mary's and No. 10 Utah State over No. 7 UCLA. Obama notably also predicts that No. 5 Clemson will upset No. 1 Houston in the Sweet 16, before ultimately falling to No. 2 Tennessee.
Obama has fewer upsets on the women's side, where the tournament tends to be more predictable, especially in the early rounds. But he does have No. 10 Harvard, the Ivy League champs, upsetting No. 7 Michigan State in the first round, plus No. 10 Oregon doing the same to No. 7 Vanderbilt. In his most ambitious upset, Obama also has No. 13 Montana State defeating No. 4 Ohio State in the first round.
With the men's First Four already done, Obama was two-for-four on his First Four predictions, incorrectly missing out on Mount St. Mary's win over American and Xavier's win over Texas.
He also incorrectly picked both of the First Four games on the women's side that took place yesterday, with Iowa State beating Princeton and Southern getting the win over UC San Diego. Two more First Four games will take place on Thursday, with Obama predicting that Columbia will beat Washington and High Point will be William & Mary.
Last year, Obama's bracket was relatively on the money: He was spot-on with his prediction that South Carolina would beat Iowa in the championship on the women's side, and correctly guessed that UConn would win it all on the men's side. However, Obama believe that the Huskies would be getting the win over Kentucky in the final, but the Wildcats were upset in the first round by Oakland.
This year, we'll have to see where it all lands. Even with Obama picking two heavy favorites to win it all, March is never predictable.
