Barack Obama visited North Carolina Coach Roy Williams in Chapel Hill last April during the presidential campaign.

President Obama says he watches essentially only one thing on television: basketball. So his N.C.A.A. bracket is rooted in a season’s worth of knowledge, not haphazardly picking whichever team makes political sense.

College basketball offers one of the few reprieves from the vast challenges facing the president. And his advisers sought to lighten the mood, at least for a moment, and capture maximum exposure of Obama’s tournament picks by inviting ESPN to the White House Map Room to watch him fill out his bracket.

Obama selected Louisville, North Carolina, Memphis and Pittsburgh to make it to the Final Four. And the winner? North Carolina, the president predicts.

With the exception of Memphis, each of the teams were the top seed in their respective regions. So is the president playing it safe or playing to win the White House pool? Aides said he believes in his selections — based on knowing the strengths and weaknesses of players after watching games in the White House or aboard Air Force One — and politics didn’t enter into his decisions.

This year, it was an easier task. In last year’s tournament, Obama still faced primary voters (and fans) in North Carolina, Indiana and Pennsylvania when he filled out his bracket. He picked North Carolina, a choice that proved wrong.

“This year don’t embarrass me in front of the nation, all right?” Obama said, addressing his words to coach Roy Williams and the Tar Heels. “I’m counting on you.”

Andy Katz, the college basketball correspondent for ESPN, asked the president whether he overlooked Arizona because of his own rivalry with Senator John McCain.

“It has nothing to do with McCain,” the president said. “I think Arizona is a great state. I love playing golf there. But they just squeaked in, based on reputation.”