(Image Credit: Peter Macdiarmid/AP Photo)

President Obama, the nation's basketball-fan-in-chief, is scheduled to take British Prime Minister David Cameron to an NCAA tournament game as part of his official visit to the United States next week.

Showcasing one of America's most popular sporting events, Obama and Cameron will attend a first-round game in Ohio at the University of Dayton Tuesday.

The outing is intended to highlight the close relationship between the two nations, according to a White House official.

The game also gives the president another opportunity to visit the key battleground state.

While Obama carried the Buckeye State in 2008, recent polls show him in a tight race for Ohio with GOP front-runner Mitt Romney.