Former President Barack Obama Reveals 2021 March Madness Men's, Women's Brackets

Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Former President Barack Obama announced his 2021 NCAA tournament bracket predictions Thursday, with Gonzaga completing a perfect season to win the men's championship and Baylor capturing its second straight title on the women's side.

Obama has made an annual tradition of releasing his March Madness pick dating back to his days inside the White House. He went mostly chalk in the men's bracket this year with all four No. 1 seeds advancing to the Final Four.

His most notable underdog run came from No. 13 seed Ohio, the MAC tournament champions, making a charge to the Sweet 16 in the West region with wins over Virginia and the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB).

Gonzaga matches up with Illinois—the state where he served as a U.S. senator before winning the 2008 presidential election—in his predicted final, with the Zags finishing what would be a 32-0 season. It would be the first undefeated men's college basketball campaign since Indiana in 1975-76.

Meanwhile, Obama picked a few minor upsets in the opening round of the women's tournament but mostly stuck with the traditional powers to make deep runs.

✨ Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content

His Final Four features two No. 1 seeds (Stanford and NC State) and a pair of No. 2 seeds (Baylor and Maryland), with the Cardinal and Bears meeting in the championship game.

Baylor, which won an 82-81 thriller over Notre Dame in the final two years ago, would be in for another tough test if it matches up with the top overall seed in Stanford, but the 44th president senses the start of a dynasty for the Lady Bears.