CHICAGO -- Former President Barack Obama has picked his NCAA tournament brackets, and he has Michigan State winning the men's basketball title and -- no surprise -- UConn winning the women's championship.
Obama has the Spartans beating Bucknell, Syracuse, Duke and top-seeded Kansas to reach the Final Four along with defending national champion North Carolina, Villanova and Virginia. Then he has Michigan State topping Villanova in the national semifinals and Virginia, the tournament's top seed, for the national championship.
On the women's side, Obama has the unbeaten Huskies, the overall No. 1 seed, defeating Saint Francis, Quinnipiac, Duke and South Carolina to reach the Final Four along with Louisville, Notre Dame and Mississippi State. UConn then beats longtime rival Notre Dame in the national semifinals and Mississippi State for the title.
The picks were posted Wednesday on the Obama Foundation's website. Obama tweeted his brackets as well.
Just because I have more time to watch games doesn't mean my picks will be better, but here are my brackets this year: https://t.co/ETRchPcZxF pic.twitter.com/gnNXw0Ysxr
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 14, 2018
Last year he picked the North Carolina men and UConn women to win, and the Tar Heels obliged. Mississippi State snapped the Huskies' 111-game winning streak in last year's Final Four.
It's unclear whether President Donald Trump will fill out a bracket. He declined an invitation last year from ESPN to do so on-air, as Obama did during his presidency.
On Thursday, former President George H.W. Bush countered Obama's selections with his own via Twitter:
Respectfully differing with @BarackObama so out on a limb here, but I have a gut feeling my @TAMU @aggiembk #Aggies are going the distance @marchmadness. #GigEm pic.twitter.com/E63a0UNnv7
— George Bush (@GeorgeHWBush) March 15, 2018
Responded Obama: 41: I like the competition. And the loyalty to the home team. - 44.
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.