Alabama Basketball: Barack Obama predicts Tide upset in NCAA Tourney

Barack Obama predicts Alabama basketball won’t make the Elite 8.

Barack Obama and Alabama have a long history. During his presidency, the Tide won five national championships. He even joked that you could call him “O’Bama.” Still, the former president did not show love to Alabama basketball during his NCAA Tournament predictions.

Since his presidency, Obama released his predictions for every NCAA Tournament bracket. He would detail his reasoning as he filled out a bracket like every other college basketball fan. While his predictions weren’t usually accurate, it became a tradition that has extended into his civilian life.

He has officially released his 2021 “Baracketology” board, and he was not kind to Alabama basketball. He chose them to be upset in the Sweet 16 to Texas, a 3-seed.

This isn’t Barack Obama’s first time picking against Alabama basketball. In their last trip to the NCAA Tournament, he had them losing in the first round to Virginia Tech. The Tide ended up winning that game before losing to the 1-seed Villanova. Villanova went on to win it all that season.

Obama also picked against Alabama’s women’s basketball team this year. This is the Tide’s first time making the NCAA Tournament since the 1998-99 season. They are a 7-seed, but Obama predicted for UNC to upset them in the first round.

The former president has a history of following college basketball beyond his bracket predictions. He attended the infamous Zion shoe game in 2019. In this game, Williamson broke through his shoe within the first few minutes against North Carolina. Obama was seen in the front row as this happened.

Despite this prediction, many believe that Alabama basketball will make the Final Four. They are the best two-seed in college basketball, and Michigan has a tough road to the Elite Eight.

No matter how this plays out, Alabama basketball fans hope the Tide will go further than Barack Obama predicts.