Gov. Beverly Perdue met with the N&O this morning.

As the session with the editorial board drew to a close, executive editor John Drescher said "I've got an important question for you..."

"...Who's going to win the ball game," Perdue completed.

Drescher: I know you're a big college basketball fan. What's your assessment of this NCAA tournament and how the teams from North Carolina are going to do?

Perdue: Well I just sent you my picks. Bob and I had an argument last night because he picked, I forget, one team and I did pick Louisville. ... I really hope that Carolina wins. Everybody knows that I'm a big Carolina fan. ... It would be wonderful to see Wake or Duke do well. ... I hope that Tyler and Ty do well.

Drescher: Now you have a lot of sources we don't have. What do you know about Ty's toe?

Perdue: I would go bandage it myself if I thought it would help.

Perdue said her husband will be in Greensboro for some NCAA games. She said she may not be able to attend because of another commitment.

"If you see me there don't think I'm shirking my responsibilities as governor," she said.

President Obama has picked the Tar Heels.

In an interview with ESPN.com, Obama said that UNC-Chapel Hill's men's basketball team will win the NCAA tournament over the Louisville Cardinals.

It was the second time he's favored the team. In March of 2008, as North Carolina's presidential primary approached, Obama told 850 The Buzz that the Tar Heels would win because of Tyler Hansbrough.

The Kansas Jayhawks ended up winning that year afer defeating Carolina in the semifinals.

"Now, for the Tar Heels that are watching, I picked you all last year — you let me down," Obama said in a TV interview. "This year, don't embarass me in front of the nation, all right? I'mcounting on you. I still got those sneakers you guys gave me."

Obama also made a bet with basketball writer Andy Katz: White House M&Ms versus an ESPN water bottle.

Barack Obama turned on a full-court press today.

The Democratic presidential candidate scrimmaged with the UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels at the Dean Smith Center in an early-morning workout, Anne Blythe reports.

In black sweat pants and a gray T-shirt, Obama took on Tyler Hansbrough, but he missed.

"I thought I had one over the national player of the year," the candidate said. 

Obama kept up with the run-and-gun pace for at least five minutes before benching himself. When he got back in the game, UNC coach Roy Williams, who was watching from a chair on the sidelines, called out: "You've got the future president of the United States wide open."

Obama also toured the locker room with Williams and Williams' wife. 

Barack Obama hinted that he may choose UNC-Chapel Hill in his bracket.

In an interview with the Charlotte Observer, the Democratic presidential candidate said that he was filling out an NCAA basketball tournament bracket during his short flight from Fayetteville to Charlotte.

The campaign staff is competing in a $10 per person pool. When the plane landed, an aide asked Obama who he was supporting, but Obama brushed it off with a joke that it was a scientific process that needed time.

Later, he told the Charlotte Observer he was leaning towards UNC, but he was moved more by Tyler Hansbrough than North Carolina's looming May 6 primary.

"Well, I have to say, uh, Hansbrough's looking tough. That's a big boy, there. So I've got to fill it out, I've got to do a little bracketology before I make a final decision."

Earlier in the day, Obama shot hoops with soldiers from Fort Bragg.