U.S. President Barack Obama
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks before signing the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act into law at the White House in Washington February 12, 2015. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

United States President Barack Obama is self-confessed follower of basketball, be it the National Basketball Association or the National Collegiate Athletic Association. With March Madness again underway, the leader of the free nation once again teamed up with ESPN as he has done since 2009 to produce the Presidential Bracket.

In the predictions board, Obama chose undefeated Kentucky to will everything and to prevail against his other finals pick – Villanova. The other teams which he thinks will make the Final Four who will play in Indianapolis are 15-time national team champions Duke and Arizona which is helmed by six-year coach Sean Miller.

"It's nice being just a little bit of the underdog because you have less pressure on you, on the other hand, there's a reason they're the favorite," Obama told ESPN of Kentucky’s probability of emerging as the champions, "because they're a really good team."

Obama might be backing a great favourite given that the Kentucky Wildcats have a rich history of winning, holding the record for most wins at 2,174 and best winning percentage at 76 per cent. This year’s team also holds the distinction of going undefeated this season. The team also boasts of NBA ready talent such as Karl –Anthony Towns, Andrew Harrison, Devin Booker and Willie Cauley-Stein. Of course there is master tactician John Calipari who stresses that defence is the key to winning championships, which has been full display all year long to the delight of the Blue Devil Nation.

President Obama, who holds a 72 percent in picking out the outcomes of matches, also had some upsets up his sleeves by predicting that a pair of 12 seeds will win out with Buffalo putting the clamps on fifth seed West Virginia and Wyoming surprising Northern Iowa. He even went as far as saying that he was not too sure with Gonzaga and that the number two seed might suffer an upset early on in the tournament.

The die-hard 53-year-old basketball fanatic also gave his opinion on how to improve the flow of the game by suggesting to ESPN’s Andy Katz that the NCAA could consider adopting a 30-second shot clock, giving penetrators more room to operate and pushing back the three point line. He made mention of how San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has revolutionized the way the game is being played by emphasizing space and pace, a scheme which is being followed by some successful teams such as the Atlanta Hawks.

For concerns on this story, contact the author at hidalgovincentpaul@gmail.com.

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