How Biden, Harris and Obama brackets are faring heading into Final Four
After weeks of basketball, the men’s and women’s Final Four brackets have taken shape and like many Americans, the White House brackets are mostly busted. President Biden, Vice President Harris and former President Obama each had big misses in their Final Four predictions.
For the men’s tournament, No 1. UConn is slated to face No. 4 Alabama, while top-seeded Purdue plays underdog No. 11 NC State. The Wolfpack shocked college basketball with a pair of massive upsets, taking down 2-seed Marquette and then in-state rival Duke, a top seed.
Biden, Harris and Obama each wrote in NC State falling early, Obama in the second round to Kentucky, and Biden and Harris to Marquette in the Sweet 16. Kentucky never even faced NC State, falling in a shocking upset to 14-seed Oakland in the first round.
The Wildcats made the Final Four in Obama’s bracket, with that pick being the biggest miss of his predictions. Notably, Obama announced his picks on the debut episode of Kentucky coach John Calipari’s podcast.
Biden’s bracket was also busted early, after he predicted Alabama would fall to No. 13 Charleston in the first round. The Crimson Tide put up 109 points on Charleston, and went on to defeat his Final Four pick, top-seed UNC, in the Sweet Sixteen.
All three picked UConn to win it all, with that outcome still possible. The Huskies entered the men’s tournament as favorites, and both the school’s men’s and women’s basketball teams are in the Final Four.
On the women’s side, No.1 seeds Iowa and South Carolina remain, set to face 3-seeds UConn and NC State, respectively.
Only Obama’s bracket had faith in Iowa and superstar Caitlin Clark. Biden predicted the Hawkeyes would face an upset by Colorado in the Sweet Sixteen, while Harris said UCLA would defeat them in the Elite Eight. Clark led her team to victory Monday, in a dominating performance against LSU.
Biden’s was the only bracket to pick UConn to make both Final Four tournaments, while none of the six brackets penciled in NC State men’s or women’s teams.
All three of the brackets picked South Carolina to win the women’s tournament, again siding with the favorite to take the title.