How is Obama's NCAA bracket doing?
President Obama has been about half right.
Since the Sweet Sixteen, the president's NCAA men's bracket has about as many check marks as strikethroughs. He correctly picked eight Sweet Sixteen teams, five teams in the Elite Eight (Kentucky, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Duke) and has two of the final four still alive (Kentucky and Duke).
- Previewing the Final Four matchups in Indianapolis
- "CBS This Morning" hosts reveal their March Madness brackets
Villanova's early exit from the tournament knocked out one of the president's picks for the national championship game. His other, undefeated Kentucky, faces a tough Wisconsin team Saturday to advance to the finals.
President Obama's predictions put him in 5,298,449th place, or in the 54th percentile, on ESPN's online bracket rankings. That puts him ahead of late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel (32nd percentile) and ESPN's (supposed) bracket expert Joe Lunardi (41st percentile). The president trails actor Will Ferrell, however, whose bracket ranks in the 60th percentile.
This is the second time since becoming president that Mr. Obama has successfully chosen two final four teams. In 2009, he correctly picked North Carolina to win it all.
On the women's side, the president has fared quite well, correctly choosing three of the four teams remaining in the tournament. His pick to win it all, Connecticut, is 36-1 and has beat opponents by more than 40 points per game on average. The Connecticut women's program has won nine national championships.
Mr. Obama's lone miss in the women's Final Four is Princeton, the eighth-seed that lost in the second round to first-seeded Maryland. It was likely a sentimental pick. His niece, Leslie Robinson, is a freshman forward for Princeton and first lady Michelle Obama is an alumna. Blood, it appears, is thicker than logic.