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Obama picks Jayhawks, Huskies to win NCAA tournament

President Obama picks Kansas over UNC to win NCAA tournament

President Barack Obama has picked Kansas beat North Carolina in the championship game of the NCAA tournament.
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President Barack Obama has picked Kansas beat North Carolina in the championship game of the NCAA tournament.

“[Kansas coach] Bill Self owes me,” Obama joked to ESPN. “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.”

Obama predicted Kansas would triumph over Texas A&M in the Final Four, while North Carolina would beat Michigan State.

This year marks the third time he has selected Kansas as the title winner, though the Jayhawks were knocked out in the second round of the tournament in 2010 and lost to Virginia Commonwealth in the regional final in 2011.

• SI’s experts fill out their 2016 NCAA tournament brackets

The president has not correctly picked the national champion since selecting UNC to win it all in 2009.

- Erin Flynn

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