At halftime of the Xavier and Minnesota game, I realized that fans were leaving the stadium by getting a stamp on their ticket. Technically, you were only supposed to go outside to smoke in the immediate vicinity of the arena. However, security was not monitoring the “smoking area” outside so it was very easy to leave and wander around downtown Milwaukee in between the two games of each session (and halftime if you were really desperate). This is a key perk with attending games in Milwaukee as bars are located directly across N. 4th St. With the NCAA’s staunch rule of not allowing alcohol sales in the venues fans could easily leave the stadium, grab a beer or two and head back into the Bradley Center for the second game.

I chose to walk over to CenterCourt Bar & Grill – directly across the street from the Bradley Center. At CenterCourt Bar & Grill I asked the ticket broker (who had an “official” booth there) how much tickets were for Session 2 and Session 3. He said $50 per ticket per session. Prices were already $21 less than face value.

The other perk of leaving the Bradley Center was that you do not have to eat stadium food. Instead, I grabbed a Gyro from a cart (it’s subjective whether this was better than stadium food) and headed back to the Bradley Center for Game 2.

#3 Pittsburgh vs. #14 Oakland
Pittsburgh dominated Oakland early and won the game in a rout 89-66. Pittsburgh took control after Derick Nelson left the first half because of a gash over his left eye. He returned in the second half but the game was essentially over. Oakland won the Summit League title to qualify for the tournament.