Poizner picks the underdogs for the NCAA tourney

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For his own sake, here’s hoping Steve Poizner knows a little bit more about government than he appears to know about college basketball.

Last year, President Obama conducted an Oval Office interview with ESPN in which he filled out his NCAA Tournament bracket. Obama correctly picked North Carolina to win the tournament.

In that spirit, perhaps, Poizner has filled out his bracket this year. And while the bracket is heavy with hometown favoritism, it doesn’t seem rooted in solid college basketball knowledge. This despite the fact that Poizner invited GOP convention-goers to hang out and watch college hoops with him during last weekend’s Republican confab in Santa Clara.

Hey, it’s tournament time. Everybody’s an expert, right?

Poizner’s picks to make the Elite 8 include three California schools -- California, San Diego State and St. Mary’s. Now, we haven’t checked all the experts, but we can’t find one bracket that has even one of those schools among the final eight teams in the tourney. His Final Four includes two No. 1 seeds -- Syracuse and Kansas -- along with Texas and California? Really?

But wait! In a shocking upset, Poizner picks Cal to beat Kansas in the finals!

Hey, maybe he’s got a soft spot for the underdog.

For the record, Meg Whitman did not fill out a bracket, but her spokeswoman said Whitman too is rooting for Cal.

-- Anthony York