Former president Barack Obama is a noted basketball fan and has been filling out March Madness brackets since he was in the White House. Obama submitted his picks for this year’s NCAA Tournament on his official Twitter account, revealing his picks for March Madness.
It’s the best time of year! My #MarchMadness brackets will get busted soon enough, but here are my picks.
Who do you have winning it all? pic.twitter.com/H3MdBkJCmY
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 15, 2023
Obama picked a notable upset, as he had the 11th-ranked Pitt Panthers upsetting the 6th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones in the Midwest region. The 44th president of the United States has the University of Pittsburgh facing off against Xavier in the Round of 32 but notably omitted the winner. For what it’s worth, Obama had Texas advancing past the Sweet 16.
Ahead of their matchup against Iowa State on Friday afternoon, some of the Pitt players were asked for their thoughts on Obama picking them to upset the Cyclones. They were also asked about Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro picking them to make the Elite Eight.
Shoutout @BarackObama‼️ pic.twitter.com/gGIKDUlRBB
— Pitt Basketball (@Pitt_MBB) March 16, 2023
“Alright, Barack,” said Pitt junior forward Blake Hinson. “You think Barack’s gonna see this? Barack, what up! That’s love, Barack. I’m not gonna forget that right now.”
“It feels good to know that Barack Obama is placing us to get this win, man,” redshirt junior guard Nike Sibande said. “But, at the end of the day, we have to come out and take care of business. Just a year ago, nobody had us projected to win nothing. It just feels good to be on the other side of that for sure.”
[Barack Obama on Twitter, Pitt Basketball on Twitter]
