Joe Ovies, Joe Giglio and Adam Gold of 99.9 The Fan in Raleigh welcomed North Carolina governor Roy Cooper on Thursday to go over his NCAA Tournament bracket.
There was a lot of chalk, but not as much as former President Barack Obama who also released his bracket Thursday, picking all No. 1 seeds to advance to the Final Four. Cooper does have No. 1 seed Illinois getting knocked out in the Sweet 16 and 13-seed Liberty beating Oklahoma State in the first round. He also has two 12-seeds winning their first-round games, UCSB beating Creighton and Winthrop over Villanova.
For his Final Four, Cooper went with all one and two seeds, Gonzaga, Alabama, Houston and Baylor. Ultimately, his National Championship game prediction is Baylor over Gonzaga, a battle of No. 1 seeds.
As for the three teams representing North Carolina in the tournament, the governor didn’t display much confidence. Cooper has UNC making it to the round of 32, but noted his instinct says the Tar Heels will be knocked out by Wisconsin. Giglio reminded Cooper of coach Roy Williams’ 29-0 record in NCAA Tournament first round games, seemingly easing the governor, who is a UNC fan and alum, a bit.
And while many people fill out their bracket just for fun, 99.9 The Fan wanted to know when North Carolina might be able to legally wager on the tournament. Cooper couldn’t give a timeline for legalized sports wagering throughout North Carolina, but he was certainly in favor of seeing it happen soon.
“There’s no reason why the state can’t do it because it would create a significant number of jobs and revenue. I’m for it, but I don’t think the General Assembly is ready for it yet,” Cooper said, noting the state did, however, approve it for the Cherokee and Catawba tribal casinos.