Obama picks Kentucky to win men's tourney
President Obama went with conventional wisdom Wednesday, picking the undefeated University of Kentucky to win this year's men's college basketball tournament.
Kentucky, 34-0, heavy favorites in the tournament, will beat Villanova in the championship game, Obama said in making his annual tournament picks in a taped segment for ESPN.
The president also predicted that Arizona and Duke will make this year's Final Four.
During the session, Obama also said he supports changes to the game, including the widening of foul lanes, moving back the three-point shot line, and reducing the shot block from 35 to 30 seconds.
"I am an advocate, by the way, for the NCAA changing the rules in terms of shortening the shot clock, widening the lane, moving the three-point line back a little bit.
"The fact of the matter is I like how basketball is going in the NBA because it's fluid. What (Spurs coach) Gregg Popovich did with San Antonio I think is being replicated now with Atlanta and Golden State, and you're seeing a lot of teams move in that direction. I'd like to see college basketball get back to that. It's a fast game, let's get it down to 30 seconds at minimum."