●NCAA Tournament: Barack Obama shares his bracket picks_自考专本|专升本|高升专|高升本|在职研究生-学历教育网

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- President Barack Obama has studied Lincoln and FDR to help guide him through the early stages of his presidency.

But he is very much a modern man, never too far from keeping up with the latest college basketball injury updates, the depth issues of Oklahoma, the strong finish by Florida State and the late entry into the NCAA tournament by Arizona.

AP Photo/Ron EdmondsThe White House is full of history. These days, it's also full of basketball fans.

So on a Tuesday afternoon in the White House Map Room, we wait for the president to fill out his official bracket. The oversized whiteboard, with a presidential seal, sits on an easel a few feet below a framed, formerly top-secret situation map from April 3, 1945. It details the strength of certain German divisions and includes projections for the German army for May 1, 1945.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt died nine days after this map was made. Germany surrendered in Europe a month later on May 7.

History creaks around every corner of this place, from the framed paintings of former presidents and first ladies to the chandeliers hanging above the state dining room to a coffee pot used by President John Adams more than 200 years ago.

But the juxtaposition of a president well-versed in the history of the men who have held the office before him and the brand-new playground that was built for first daughters Sasha and Malia about 50 feet outside the Oval Office makes doing a tourney bracket in the nation's most treasured house seem less surreal.

For many of us in our 40s, the NCAA tournament became a major sporting event beginning with the 1979 championship game featuring Michigan State's Magic Johnson and Indiana State's Larry Bird (Magic and the Spartans prevailed). It was no different for Obama, who was a senior in high school at the time.

"The memory of Magic, and Bird, and [Greg] Kelser, all those guys … it was an unbelievable game, and invigorated not only college basketball but ultimately pro basketball as well," Obama said. "So for any kind of basketball fan, Indiana State-Michigan State, that still is one of the greatest games of all time."

The first round of this year's tournament begins Thursday, and plenty of White House workers, as well as countless office personnel around the country, might slip away for a few minutes to watch some of the games.

Will Obama?

"I think the chances are high," he said.

The president doesn't want to touch the field of 65, so you won't find him pushing for expansion. He relishes this format and doesn't want any sort of change, unlike his publicized stance on the need for a college football playoff system.

"This is it," Obama said pointing to the bracket. "This is it. You know, you don't want to start … letting it be like the NBA. People who are sub-.500 get into the playoffs. There's something wrong with that."

So with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates holding meetings nearby, and a state dinner with Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen to come -- it was St. Patrick's Day, after all, and the president had on a green tie as the fountains showered green-dyed water -- Obama slipped down to the Map Room to break down the bracket. He proved to be as educated and knowledgeable as those who make this a trade.

Pete Souza for ESPN.comPress secretary Robert Gibbs was not particularly pleased about his Auburn Tigers being left out of the NCAA tourney field.

The president had worked on his bracket earlier in the morning, going over it with press secretary Robert Gibbs, an Auburn, Ala., native who was still disappointed his Tigers didn't advance far enough in the SEC tournament to land a bid.

Obama, though, didn't seem to need much advice when it came time to pick. He dove right into the first round, with only a few upsets here and there, notably No. 11 VCU over No. 6 UCLA in the East Regional in Philadelphia.

"VCU, I think, has been playing strong, and I hate to say this, because my brother-in-law is in the Pac-10 right now, but the Pac-10 has been looking pretty weak this year," Obama said. "I like that as an upset."

He picked No. 11 Temple over No. 6 Arizona State in the South, too.

Craig Robinson, Obama's brother-in-law, is the coach at Oregon State and led the Beavers to seven Pac-10 wins in his first season, after OSU went winless in the league a year ago. Obama picked against five of the six Pac-10 schools in the first round, selecting 4-seed Washington (over 13-seed Mississippi State) as the one league team to advance.

"I want him to have an incentive, knowing that I think the rest of the Pac-10 can be taken next year," Obama said of Robinson's team, which earned a berth in the College Basketball Invitational with a 13-17 record. "I think the Beavers are on their way."

Contrary to many brackets around the country, Obama went against a trendy 12-5 upset pick, selecting Utah over Arizona.

Did it have anything to do with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whom he defeated in last year's presidential election?

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