Barack Obama believes in Memphis basketball. How far his March Madness bracket has Tigers going

Can Memphis basketball get to March Madness' Sweet 16?

Yes, it can. So says former President Barack Obama, who made his official men's and women's NCAA tournament brackets public Wednesday via social media. In his post on Twitter, Obama called this "the best time of year."

Obama is clearly a believer in the 24th-ranked Tigers (26-8), who enter the Big Dance fresh off their AAC tournament championship win over No. 2 Houston. Memphis is the only No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament that Obama picked to get out of the first round. The Tigers are set to face 9-seed FAU (31-3) at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday (8:20 p.m., TNT).

Taking it a step further, Obama predicts the Tigers will upset 1-seed Purdue on Sunday to reach the Sweet 16. If Obama is right, that will be as far as Memphis gets. He has Duke taking down the Tigers next weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Blue Devils are also Obama's pick to eventually win it all (over Houston).

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Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Barack Obama bracket has Memphis basketball in March Madness Sweet 16