College basketball fans flock to Milwaukee to watch the March Madness tournament

Seth Trimble grew up in Menomonee Falls, around 15 miles from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

He’s a lifelong Milwaukee Bucks fan. Trimble said he’s probably been to more than 40 games and was even in the Deer District when the Bucks won the NBA Championship in 2021.

But the 6-foot-3 University of North Carolina guard has never played a game at Fiserv Forum.  

That is, until this weekend — his team will face off against the Ole Miss Rebels in the first round of the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament on Friday at Fiserv Forum.

Trimble said he was in “shock” when he found out he would have the chance to come back home and play in Milwaukee.

“It’s always been a dream of mine, and I’m just glad that I can finally make that come true,” Trimble said.

Trimble’s dad comes to every game he plays. Now, he’ll only have to drive around 30 minutes to watch his son play in the biggest game of his life so far. 

Milwaukee is playing host to the first and second rounds of the tournament, dubbed “March Madness,” on Friday and Sunday. Eight teams from across the nation are in town for the event.

Thousands of college basketball fans will be in the city to watch the games at the Fiserv. That includes John Tallman, an Iowa State alumni, who came to Milwaukee from Kansas City to watch his Cyclones take on the Lipscomb Bisons on Friday afternoon. 

“It’s great,” Tallman said about Milwaukee. “Good bar scene, a lot of good restaurants. We like the cheese curds and Spotted Cow.” 

Practices were open to the public on Thursday. Lori and Bruce Nixon, alumni of the University of Illinois, were sitting in the front row of the arena to take it all in.

They made the three-and-a-half hour drive to Milwaukee from their home in Minocqua to watch their Fighting Illini play the Xavier Musketeers on Friday. 

“We decided to celebrate spring break with March Madness,” Bruce Nixon said. 

They’ve been fans of the team for years, but this is the first time they’ll be watching their alma mater in person in the tournament. 

“I think that’s the thing I’m looking forward to is just spending the day down here today [Thursday] and then just seeing all the teams, the fans, come in over the next couple days,” Bruce Nixon said. “It’s going to be exciting.”

Marissa Werner, the director of Sports Milwaukee at Visit Milwaukee, the city’s tourism bureau, estimated around 19,000 people will travel to the city for the tournament.

Werner said the event will bring “national and international exposure to our city.” Milwaukee most recently hosted the event in 2022.

“We’re just excited at the people who will enjoy Milwaukee and decide to return for a second time because they enjoyed themselves so much,” Werner said.

Mader’s Restaurant is just a few hundred feet away from Fiserv Forum. Jackie Porrett, bar manager at the restaurant, said they plan to open early on Friday morning ahead of the first game.

She expects to see a “huge uptick” in business over the next few days.

“Our reservations are flooding in,” Porrett said. “It’s great for us, it’s great for the economy, it’s great for Milwaukee.” 

Wisconsin natives excited to play in home state 

Other college basketball players in town for the tournament are also from Wisconsin and will have the chance to play in front of their family and friends. 

Jacob Ognacevic, a forward for the Lipscomb Bisons, grew up in Sheboygan and played high school basketball for Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School.

“So our high school, we’re [a] really tight knit community,” Ognacevic said during a press conference Thursday.

Sheboygan Area Lutheran High School is also playing in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association state basketball tournament on Friday.  

“I’m super excited for them,” Ognacevic said. “I hope they can win tomorrow, and then I hope we can follow it up by winning tomorrow at 12:30.” 

Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger knows Milwaukee well — it’s his hometown.

“Milwaukee is really special for me in my upbringing, my background,” Otzelberger said. “The opportunity to be back home is great.” 

 He also coached high school basketball at Catholic Central High School in Burlington.

“To be back here for this — the magnitude of this opportunity in front of us is a pretty cool experience,” he said.

One of Otzelberger’s players, Milan Momcilovic, graduated from Pewaukee High School.  He  estimated around 30 or 40 family members and friends will be in the stands to watch him play Friday. 

He said he expects to see a lot of people wearing Pewaukee High School colors to support him as well.

“I expect to see a lot of people that I know and just a lot of support,” Momcilovic said.