Former US President Barack Obama’s passion for basketball was evident during his time in the White House, and he made it an annual tradition to fill out March Madness brackets for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Obama’s final four in the men’s bracket consisted of Houston, UCLA, Baylor and Duke, with Duke crowned the eventual winner. On the women’s bracket, Obama predicted South Carolina, Stanford, Indiana and Virginia Tech as finalists, with Gamecocks as the champion. “It’s the best time of the year!” Obama took to Twitter on Wednesday with pictures of his braces. The perfect March Madness bracket has a 1 in 9.2 quintillion chance. SEE ALSO: ‘Deadpool’ turned business mogul Ryan Reynolds on a roll with Mint Mobile deal Obama played basketball in high school and was known to play pickup games in the White House while serving as president. Shortly after taking office, Obama adapted the White House tennis courts so that they could be used for both tennis and basketball. The former president has said he is a fan of the Chicago Bulls, and has attended many professional and college basketball games over the years. An estimated 68 million American adults plan to bet on this year’s tournament, and the most popular teams that people are picking are Kentucky (9%), followed by Texas A&M (8%), Gonzaga, UCLA and Alabama. (6%). According to sportsbook DraftKings DKNG, +3.45% , Houston is seen as the betting favorite to win the tournament, followed by Alabama and Purdue. The preliminary round of the 2023 Men’s March Madness Tournament begins Thursday afternoon when West Virginia takes on Maryland at 12:15 EST.
