Barack Obama Reveals His March Madness Picks: ‘My Brackets Will Get Busted Soon Enough’

Famed hoops fan Barack Obama announced his picks for the NCAA March Madness men and women’s tournaments — although, like many of us, he’s not overly confident about his predictions.

“It’s the best time of year!” the 44th U.S. president tweeted Wednesday. “My #MarchMadness brackets will get busted soon enough, but here are my picks. Who do you have winning it all?”

In the Final Four on the men’s side, Obama picked Houston, UCLA, Baylor and Duke winning their respective regions, with the Blue Devils and the Cougars advancing to the championship game — and Duke ultimately beating Houston. On the women’s side, Obama has South Carolina, Stanford, Virginia Tech and Indiana in the Final Four, with undefeated defending champs South Carolina besting Indiana in the final. (See his brackets below.)

The first round of the NCAA March Madness tournament kicks of Thursday. All 68 games will be broadcast across TBS, TNT, TruTV or CBS, and the madness will be available to watch on both TV and a variety of streaming platforms.

The NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament of 68 teams that compete in seven rounds for the national championship. The popular tournament has been played since 1939. This year’s schedule is as follows: First round, March 16-17; second round: March 18-19; Sweet 16: March 23-24; Elite Eight: March 25-26; Final Four: April 1; NCAA Championship Game: April 3.

Ahead of the March Madness tournament, AT&T last week announced a renewal of its NCAA sponsorship pact through the 2024-2025 academic year. The telco has been an NCAA “corporate champion” since 2001.