Obama's NCAA Bracket Sees North Carolina as 2012 Champs

By Ivana Kvesic, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, March 15, 2012

President Barack Obama has announced his March Madness bracket for this year, predicting that the University of North Carolina will take home the 2012 NCCA title.

The commander-in-chief made his bracket choice known Wednesday morning via ESPN.

Obama is known for his love of sports, particularly basketball, and in 2009 he correctly predicted that North Carolina's Tar Heels would win the championship.

"They're an older team, a more experienced team. And, since they won it for me the last time I picked them, hopefully I'll be able to get a little more redemption for the last two years," Obama said of his choice. "I'm just a sucker for the Tar Heels."

Obama's past two predictions saw the commander in chief placing his NCAA bet on the University of Kansas' Jayhawks, but the team came up short.

"They broke my heart each year," Obama joked on the sports channel.

On Tuesday, the president was spotted at a "First Four" matchup game between Mississippi Valley State and Western Kentucky with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Many sports commentators are suggesting that Obama's bracket placements this year might have somewhat of a political undertone, as 19 of the 32 teams he selected to win at least one game come from battleground states. Of these, 11 are predicted to make it to the Sweet 16.

Obama's final four consists of Kentucky, North Carolina, Missouri, and Ohio State.

Meanwhile, college basketball enthusiasts are already predicting which underdog team will rise from the ashes and have a real shot in the popular tournament taking place in New Orleans this year.

Fox Sports predicts that Wichita State's Shockers, the Memphis Tigers, St. Louis's Billikens, New Mexico's Lobos, and Harvard are all teams that might score a "Cinderella story" in this year's tournament.