Obama Picks North Carolina to Win NCAA Title President Barack Obama likes North Carolina's chances of winning the NCAA title. Obama picked the Tar Heels to win it all in his 2012 NCAA bracket, which was revealed Wednesday on ESPN. He correctly picked North Carolina to win the 2009 NCAA championship. Obama has North Carolina - a swing state in this year's presidential election - beating Kentucky in the title game. The Wildcats are the tournament's overall No. Ohio State and Missouri rounded out the president's Final Four. In the Sweet 16, Obama is picking two Cinderella teams - No. 5 seed New Mexico in the West and No. 11 seed North Carolina State in the Midwest. The past two seasons, Obama picked Kansas as the tournament winner. The Jayhawks were eliminated early both times.