Obama Picks Nova to Make Final 4
First Fan picks against Temple in 1st round
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Obama enjoys the NCAA Tournament and makes his picks.
The First Fan showed some Philly love while picking his NCAA men’s basketball bracket putting Villanova in his Final Four.
President Barack Obama also appears to be a big fan of basketball programs from Kansas and Wildcats, according to the bracket he filled out for ESPN Wednesday.
Obama predicted Kansas, Kansas State and Kentucky to join Nova in Final Four this season, with the Jayhawks defeating Kentucky for the title.
Obama, a good pickup basketball player in his own right, did what many Americans did this week and filled out a bracket. This was the second straight year of "Barack-etology" on ESPN.
The Prez picked Jay Wright’s team to defeat No. 1-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight before falling to Kentucky in a Final Four showdown of Wildcats.
Obama went against his adviser Reggie Love by picking Nova to beat Duke.
"I just think Nova's guards are too quick," Obama told ESPN's Andy Katz.
But even if Obama showed love to Nova, he sure didn’t have it for Philly’s other Big 5 hopeful.
The First Fan has the Temple Owls being clipped in the opening round.
Obama predicted several first-round upsets: No. 13 seed Siena over Purdue, 12th-seeded Cornell to beat Temple, and Murray State to upset fourth-seeded Vanderbilt.
“I like Murray State -- they've got a well-balanced team and they're athletic,” Obama said. “I like Cornell... I think they have a terrific team. And Siena. Look, I feel bad for Purdue.”
Hopefully for Temple fans, Obama will also feel sorry for picking Cornell.
Last year, Obama correctly picked North Carolina to win the national championship. His bracket ranked 903,125th overall, just above the 80th percentile in ESPN's online contest.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
Posted Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010 - 4:48 PM EST
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