KU Basketball: POTUS Picks Jayhawks To Win Tournament

The KU Basketball team has been picked by President Obama to win the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Hopefully, they’ll fare better than most of his other picks.

President Obama makes a selection to win the tournament every year. The only time he’s been right is the time he picked North Carolina in 2009. That was his first year making a selection as the President of the United States, and now he’ll look to correctly choose a winner in his last year of presidency.

The Jayhawks have an easy first assignment in the Austin Peay Governors. The Governors are the 16 seed in the Southern Regional, and for them to beat the Jayhawks, they’d have to defy a pretty strong statement made by history. No 16 seed has ever beaten a number one seed in the NCAA tournament and don’t look for that to happen again this year.

The Jayhawks were also picked by the president to win the tournament in both 2010 and 2011. They came up short in both instances.

In 2010, they were upset in the second round of the tournament by the number nine seeded Northern Iowa Panthers. It was a game that came down to the wire as the Panthers won 69-67. While Northern Iowa became a Cinderella story that year, it doesn’t take the sting out of losing.

In 2011, the Jayhawks rolled through the first three rounds of the tournament. In their first three games, they won by a combined score of 222-169. They met the number 11 seed VCU in the Elite Eight where they would fall by a score of ten points. The final score was 71-61.

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When asked about his previous picks of the Jayhawks in comparison to this year’s team the President was quoted in an article by Andy Katz saying:

"“Bill Self owes me,” Obama said in jest while filling out a bracket with ESPN for the eighth straight year at the White House. “I’m putting Kansas in here. Coach, I’m just teasing. I’m not putting pressure on you. But I think the Jayhawks in a squeaker get past UNC.”"

President Obama has the Jayhawks taking the following route on their way to a National Title. After they dispense with the number 16 seed, the real tournament begins for the Jayhawks.

The president has them taking on the University of Connecticut in the second round of the tournament. Hopefully, they used up their full-court jumper magic in the conference tournament. They’re the number nine seed this year, so hopefully, history doesn’t repeat itself.

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After that win, they move on to Maryland. Maryland is the fifth seed in the Southern Regional and could offer at least a decent match-up. All of these games are one and done if you lose so that anything can happen.

If they dispense with Maryland, they move on to Villanova and then to Texas A&M in the Final Four. The President picked against the Oklahoma Sooners, which is unfortunate given how fun the Jayhawks/Sooners games have been this season. Ultimately, he has them beating North Carolina for the National Title. It would be the Jayhawks first title since 2008.

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The NCAA tournament is always full of upsets and incredible plays. There will almost undoubtedly be an underrated team trying to become this year’s Cinderella story. The President doesn’t make a habit of picking many underdogs, but his bracket will most certainly get busted as a result. See his full bracket here.

What do you think of the President’s picks in this year’s bracket? Who is going to bust his bracket first? Will the Jayhawks run to a title this year? Let me know your thoughts in the comments’ section below.