Purdue fans watch round 1 of March Madness win

FISHERS, Ind. – One of our own Indiana teams kicked things off in the first round of March Madness games, as Number 4 seed Purdue faced off against the Number 13 seed High Point Panthers Thursday afternoon.

Long-time Boilermakers cheered on the team from afar, and all the way to a win. Indianapolis Purdue alumni filled their typical watch party spot, Mashcraft Brewing in Fishers, for the game.

With Purdue making it far in the tournament last year, longtime fans are anticipating making it to the championship again. 

“Last year was such great energy, and I was so excited all season long to get back to March,” said Kelsey Habig with the Purdue Alumni of Indianapolis. 

Fans chanted and cheered for Purdue up to the 12-point win.

Other basketball fans gathered at The Garage in Bottleworks for their 5th Annual BBall Bash.
While many celebrated, some were unhappy with their predictions.

“The best thing about filling out your bracket is when you tear it up because it’s garbage by the second day,” said Tony Donohue. “That’s the beauty of the tournament, and that’s why people watch.”

Now with this win, Purdue will be moving on to the second round of the tournament. If they win Saturday, they’ll return to Indy to play in the Sweet 16 round.

“I’m really excited that the games are here next week,” said Donohue. “I think Indianapolis should always host the NCAA tournament, and then the Final Four every couple of years, like they do.”

Alumni said they already have tickets to watch the games in person and are feeling optimistic.

“I think the committee did Purdue a great favor by putting us in the Midwest region, so all we gotta do is win one more game, and we’re playing at Lucas Oil,” said Purdue Alumni Rich Schroeder.