"Barack Obama foolishly took Kentucky too far": Former US President's 2024 March Madness bracket draws wild reactions from the college hoops world

Former US President Barack Obama is a well-known, high-profile basketball fan himself. As such, he`s one of several celebrities that have chimed in on the March Madness bracketology action, coming up with his own bracket ahead of seedings and placements officially being locked in.

Here`s a look at the former POTUS` bracket, and it`s easy to notice that he put the Kentucky Wildcats to go all the way to the national title game:

President Barack Obama's men's and women's tournament bracket's. byu/spacegeese inCollegeBasketball

Granted, he doesn`t see the Wildcats winning it all and instead gives it to defending champs UConn to win back-to-back titles. But then again, a celebrity bracket will get scrutiny from many folks online.

This time, users on the College Basketball subreddit had a go at Barack Obama`s bracket, chastising the former POTUS for believing Kentucky would go that deep. Some, on the other hand, felt a bit of pride that Obama picked their teams to go deep or win, while others just straight up criticized his other picks aside from Kentucky:

Barack Obama foolishly took Kentucky too far - u/Krogsly

If I have to watch Kentucky lose to UConn in a final four/National Championship again… - u/BigBlueNate33

Damn Obama tried to pick Kentucky to make the sweet 16 twice - u/cheddarbating

I feel like this is the least chalk he's picked in a while - u/brady11

Kentucky winning the Marquette-Florida game is the boldest one - u/Buckeye_CFB

Per his twitter he appeared on Calipari’s podcast (because apparently active coaches do podcasts now in the middle of the season). So I think he has Kentucky going far as a friendly gesture. - u/jathbr

I've never been prouder as a UConn graduate - u/jblaxtn

Purdue in the Final 4 is a ballsy pick - u/erbsademon

Whether you agree or disagree with him politically, the fact he releases these each year should be something everyone likes. - u/Brandon4Real_x

He picked Vermont over Duke 😂 - u/Kodyaufan2

Barack Obama`s basketball fandom

As previously mentioned, the former POTUS` love for the game of basketball has always been a part of his identity. So for him to come up with his own March Madness bracket is nothing weird or new, joining a few other big celebrities who are basketball fans themselves.

For one, Obama played high school ball and was reportedly also playing pickup games with people during his two terms in the White House (via NBC Boston). He`s also been seen courtside at multiple NBA games over the years, and was videoed shooting around several times as well--showing off his range with a unique-looking lefty jumper: