When I was filling out my bracket Wednesday night on an online news site, little did I imagine that Barack Obama and I would both pencil in North Carolina to win the NCAA Men’s basketball championship
        Great minds think alike.
        Although, I must admit, the Illinois senator’s reasoning is sounder than mine. Obama went with the Tar Heels over UCLA based on the scrappy 6-foot-9 star Tyler Hansbrough’s ability to generate offense and pound the glass on both ends of the floor. My reasoning in picking UNC over Connecticut was the simple fact I’m a shameless front-runner, and thought there are worse things I could do than hitch my wagon to the number one seed in the East.
        But it seems that Obama can’t even play a bracket without someone questioning his motives.  Some  eyebrows were raised whether picking North Carolina was Obama’s clever attempt to pander to the Old North state with their primary approaching on May 6th.
        Not even John McCain is letting the March Madness craze slip by without getting into the action. On the Arizona senator’s website, he has posted his final selections, where it shows the presumptive Republican nominee has gone with North Carolina over Connecticut, just like mine.
        I’m feeling smarter by the minute.
        I did pay a visit to Hillary Clinton’s website, and I’m not finding any college hoop picks by the New York senator. Bloomberg was reporting that Clinton when asked who she was picking, said she needed to consult with her husband, her personal sage, who in turn through a spokesperson, said they would ``take a pass’’ about picking a favorite.
        This has led me to wonder how the alma maters of Obama, Clinton, and McCain have fared in college hoops.
        Columbia University, where Obama graduated with a degree in Political Science in 1983,, have won national collegiate championships in 1904, 1905, and 1910; the Lions were one of the elite eight teams in the 1948 NCAA tournament, and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 1968.
        Clinton’s alma mater, all-female Wellesley College, where she graduated with a degree in Political Science in 1969, has met with little success, at least on the basketball court. The Blue Pride only qualified for the NCAA tournament in 2000, when they lost to Salem State College 55-48.
        At the United States Naval Academy, where McCain graduated in 1958, the midshipmen advanced to the elite eight in 1954 and 1986, the team David Robinson suited up for before being drafted by the San Antonio Spurs in 1987. In fact, the ``Admiral'' was seventh on the NCAA single-game scoring list with a 50-point explosion against Michigan on March 12, 1987. The last tournament Navy qualified for was in 1998.
        So if we were to view these college basketball histories as a primary, it looks like Hillary will get bounced early (though she’s still holding on to hope of being a Cinderella team); while Obama and McCain will advance to the Big Dance on November 4th.
    -Bill Lucey
     billlucey@bellsouth.net