Biden’s bracket: President predicts No. 1 Gamecocks to lose in NCAA finals
South Carolina women’s basketball is the clear favorite to win the 2023 national championship — but not in the eyes of the commander in chief.
President Joe Biden has No. 4 seed Villanova beating No. 1 seed USC in the championship game, according to the NCAA men’s and women’s presidential brackets he tweeted Thursday.
First Lady Jill Biden, President Biden’s wife, graduated from Villanova with a master’s of art in English in 1991, according to the school.
Neither of President Biden’s alma maters — Delaware, where he attended undergrad, and Syracuse, where he attended law school — qualified for the men’s or women’s NCAA Tournament fields.
“Good luck to every team in this year’s NCAA tournament,” Biden said in a tweet. “I’ve got Arizona in the men’s tournament and Villanova in the women’s — and as you know, in this household, Villanova always wins.”
Villanova (28-6) reached the Big East championship game and earned a top 16 seed, meaning it’ll host first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games. The Wildcats (whose best NCAA Tournament finish is a 2003 Elite Eight appearance) play No. 13 Cleveland State on Saturday.
In Biden’s bracket, he predicts Villanova will beat Cleveland State, No. 5 Washington State in the second round, No. 1 Indiana in the Sweet Sixteen, No. 6 Michigan in the Elite Eight and No. 2 UConn in the Final Four before beating South Carolina.
South Carolina (32-0) enters the NCAA Tournament as the defending national champion and No. 1 overall seed. The Gamecocks host No. 16 Norfolk State on Friday.
Biden’s bracket has the Gamecocks beating Norfolk State, No. 9 Marquette in the second round, No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet Sixteen, No. 3 Notre Dame in the Elite Eight and No. 1 Stanford in the Final Four before losing to Villanova in the title game.
Earlier this week, President Barack Obama (under whom Biden served as vice president) picked the South Carolina women to win a second straight national championship.
Obama and Biden also differed on men’s championship picks: Obama had No. 5 Duke beating No. 1 Houston and Biden had No. 2 Arizona beating No. 1 Kansas.
This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 2:53 PM.
