Could Barack Obama (web|news|bio) 's NCAA championship pick have something to do with an upcoming primary? No, he was leaning toward North Carolina because of its 6-foot-9 star. The Democratic presidential candidate and avid basketball player selected North Carolina, Kansas, Pittsburgh and UCLA in his Final Four bracket, and is counting on North Carolina to beat UCLA in the championship game.

The state of North Carolina, with 115 delegates at stake, holds its primary May 6.

Obama had picked Stanford to beat Pittsburgh because of the Cardinal's pair of 7-foot freshman twins. In an interview Thursday morning with WRBZ-AM in Raleigh, Obama had Stanford in his Final Four. Obama's staff said he could have been leaning toward the team at one point, but Pittsburgh is his Final Four choice.

The Illinois senator began working on his NCAA basketball tournament bracket during his short flight Wednesday from Fayetteville to Charlotte, N.C. The campaign staff is competing in a $10 per person pool.

Pressed in an interview with the Charlotte Observer on Wednesday about his picks, Obama said he was swayed by the Tar Heels' 6-foot-9 star Tyler Hansbrough, not politics.

"That's a big boy, there," he said. "So I've got to fill it out, I've got to do a little bracketology before I make a final decision."

Intent on being part of March Madness, Republican rival John McCain (web|news|bio) has an NCAA bracket competition on his campaign Web site.

"McCain brackets are back!" the site says. "Compare your basketball picks to John McCain and be eligible for great McCain 2008 prizes."

Among the prizes are a McCain fleece jacket, McCain cap and McCain pin.

Obama wondered whether McCain had filled out his own bracket or left the task to an aide. Bottom line, he said he's not interested in the prizes offered by McCain's campaign.

"I've got my own T-shirts, man," Obama said in the radio interview. "Our T-shirts are superior, what can I tell you."

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By Matt Apuzzo

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