A tradition as old as “Thanks, Obama” jokes, Barack Obama revealed his March Madness brackets for the 2021 NCAA Tournament on both the women’s and the men’s side earlier in the week, and they have some big happenings.
While No. 44 is trying to play it safe in the men’s bracket, what he has happening in the Final Four is something of a rarity, happening just once before in NCAA Tournament history.
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In the women’s bracket, there are some surprises, too, with an upset brewing on the right side and UConn in for a bit of (unfortunate) history for itself.
With the First Four having been played Thursday, here’s how Obama’s brackets shakes out:
Barack Obama’s March Madness bracket 2021
NCAA men’s tournament
The former president is off to a 2-2 start, with UCLA and Texas Southern both winning their First Four matchups on Thursday night.
Obama plays it safe here, selecting all four No. 1 seeds to make it to the Final Four. The last — and only — time that all four No. 1 seeds made it to the semi-finals was in 2008, with UCLA, North Carolina, Kansas and Memphis all making it to the Final Four. KU took home the tournament win that year.
NCAA women’s tournament
A Final Four without the Huskies? Obama has the No. 1 seed losing to No. 2 seed Baylor in the River Walk Region. If that turns out to be the case, then it’ll be the first Final Four that Geno Auriemma and UConn have missed out on since 2005.
