Despite spiking gas prices, setbacks in the war in Afghanistan, and bruising attacks from the campaign trail, President Obama's numbers are up, way up, when it comes to his bracketology, that is.

After the first weekend of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, Obama's bracket is in the 98th percentile, according to ESPN.

The president, who picked the University of North Carolina as the overall winner, correctly predicted 11 of the teams that made it to the Sweet 16.

The basketball-fan-in-chief had some setbacks though. One of his Final Four picks, the University of Missouri, was eliminated in the first round and a key player for his beloved Tar Heels, sophomore point guard Kendall Marshall, is out with a broken wrist.

The president also underestimated the Buckeye State, a precarious election-year move. Obama only picked one team from Ohio to make it this far, Ohio State, but four teams from the swing state are among the Sweet 16.

Obama, who has gone public with his bracket each year he's been in office, revealed to ESPN's Andy Katz how he makes his picks.

"I'm big on momentum, especially in a tournament like this one," he said. "So whoever is looking hotter at the end of the year, those are teams that I tend to be a little more inclined to pick."