Cherry-Picker in Chief: Obama NCAA Bracket Suggests Bias Toward Schools from Swing States

[depakid]

Nate cracks me up sometimes:



Is President Obama playing favorites with his NCAA bracket? Neither Columbia University nor the University of Chicago have an entry in the Big Dance (the Maroons, alas, aren't even in D-1). Nor does the University of Hawaii or Oregon State University, where Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson, is the coach. The University of Illinois did make the bracket as a #5 seed; Obama has them winning their first round game against Western Kentucky, but then succumbing to the #4-seeded Gonzaga.

There is more than one way, however, for the President to play favorites. Was Obama more inclined to select teams from swing states that were closer in last November's election? A bit of reverse engineering of his bracket suggests that the answer is a qualified yes.

There are 63 games in the men's tournament. In one case, two teams from the same state (Louisville and Morehead State, both from Kentucky) are set to square off. In the other 62 games, Obama has the team from the state which was closer in the November election advancing 35 times (56% of the total).

<snip>

Although Obama did not pick very many upsets, just about every time he did it tended to favor the team from the swingier state. With that said, there are a couple of upsets that Obama could have reasonably picked but didn't, such as #3-seeded Missouri over #2-seeded Memphis or #2-seeded Michigan State over top seed Louisville.

But yes: the President does appear to have been mixing his hoops with his politics. Will the nation ever recover?

More: http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/03/obama-ncaa-bracket-shows-bias-toward.html

Obama's bracket: http://games.espn.go.com/tcmen/entry?entryID=2813746
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One thing for sure, he doesn't think much of the Pac 10 (and none of those schools are in swing states). May he be proven wrong!

[amandabeech]

1. He doesn't think much of the Big 10, either.

He grabbed every state with a school in the conference, including, almost miraculously, Indiana.

Sure, Northwestern usually isn't much in major sports, but c'mon.

As George Shuster says, GO BLUE!

[MadHound]

3. For good reason, the Big 10 hasn't done much this year

It's an off year for the Big 10, and I hate to say it, but Michigan shouldn't be in the tournament at 20-13. They will get knocked off by Clemson, sorry, and I say all this as a Michigan fan.

[taterguy]

2. Missouri and Michigan State don't have a chance

Granted, I haven't actually watched them or their opponents play.

I just think Memphis is on a mission

[MadHound]

5. Your lack of knowledge, at least about Missouri, shows

There's a reason that our style of ball is called forty minutes of hell. We play ten players, with no drop off in play or points. We play fast, fast, scary fast. We play a full court trapping defense that kills teams, we're number two in the country in steals, number one in assist/turnover ratio. We should be Cornell handily, and while the Marquette game might be close, we'll win. The real question is whether we can be Memphis or not, and I think that there's a pretty decent chance that we can. If our offense is on for the Memphis game, we'll win it.

[taterguy]

7. The only way to "be" Cornell is to move to Ithaca

Don't you hate being called out for typos long after the time for editing has expired.

Good luck in the Tourney.

The only thing I know about Missouri is that Kansas City is a pretty cool town.

[Zero T]

4. Bread and circuses......

nothing to see here....move along.

[MadHound]

6. Ahh, a purist. So what do you do for relaxation?

Or do you simply continue to work, work, work, only pausing for minutes of self flagellation in order to show the world how pure you are.

People, especially in these tough times, need to take a break from the bad news and the daily grind. A basketball tournament is just the ticket for many people. If you don't like basketball, fine, but don't denigrate because I imagine that you have a way of taking a break that is just as frivolous.

[Zero T]

8. I sure don't spend my spare time...

watching the idiot box!

[MadHound]

9. Well, I'm happy for you, which do you want

A medal or a chest to pin it on?

[RBInMaine]

10. Is this serious or a joke? Don't we have more important things to think about than this nonsense?