MILWAUKEE — Thousands of college basketball fans filled Fiserv Forum for Round Two of the NCAA College Basketball Tournament on Sunday after a busy first round on Friday.
Before the Illinois and Kentucky game, The Fighting Illini Band hyped up their fans in the Deer District.
Cindy Ervin was one of the many Illini fans that made the trip up I-94.
“We were so excited,” said Ervin. “We are from Illinois, where it was an easy drive. We are so excited and so pumped up to root for the Illini.”
It also wasn’t a long trip for Iowa State fan Jackson Berge and his crew.
Berge said he looked forward to exploring the city.
“Not a bad drive from where we are from, so to get over here and not have to fly is awesome. Milwaukee is the best,” said Berge. “Try out the Mecca, get some food and drinks.”
Dolores Hahn of Illinois has been in Milwaukee since Friday.
“It’s been very nice,” said Hahn. “We took some tours, took some pictures and the hospitality of the folks here is great.”
The same goes for Ervin and her crew.
“We saw Pabst Brewery,” said Ervin. “We take a tour of that. We went to the public market. Great things. Milwaukee is a great town, but we were here, rooting for the Illini.”
Kentucky fan Cameryn Downs was able to celebrate with his cats for his birthday.
“I like all the food here, especially the drinks and the cheese,” said Downs.
He said he thinks his team has what it takes.
“We are doing really good consistently, we just need better defense, but it’s also really good this year,” said Downs. “We are going to win it all.”
Although these fan bases enjoyed their time in Wisconsin’s largest city, fans of Kentucky are even more thrilled that their season isn’t ending here, with their team advancing to the Sweet 16 after an 84-75 win over Illinois. Iowa State also didn’t advance, with Ole Miss cruising past 91-78.
