LAS VEGAS — By 4 a.m., fans were already lining up outside the South Point Exhibit Hall, hours before the first tipoff of the NCAA Tournament. By the time the games began, all 2,200 seats were filled, and the escalators had to be temporarily stopped to manage the crowd.
This is “Massive Madness,” the South Point’s annual NCAA Tournament viewing party, which has grown into one of the biggest in Las Vegas. The hall is packed with hundreds of tables, betting windows and kiosks, a basketball court for free-throw and 3-point contests, and enough beer flowing from buckets to keep the energy high.
For Nebraska fan CJ, 31, from Omaha, the day was historic. The Cornhuskers had never won an NCAA Tournament game before this year, but on Thursday they broke that streak with a 76-47 victory over Troy. “Everybody knew it,” CJ said. “It wasn’t a secret. All anybody cared about for years and years and years was the football program. No money, no resources, no support for basketball. But the passion has been brought back. Go Big Red.”
The party atmosphere reached a peak early in the Duke-Siena game when a loud cheer erupted — not for a dunk or a three-pointer, but because Siena reached 15 points first in a bet that many had placed on which team would hit that mark first. The underdog Saints delivered, and South Point bettors celebrated.
Upsets are part of the tournament’s charm, and the first one of the day came when No. 12 High Point edged No. 5 Wisconsin 83-82. A Badgers fan named Matt, wearing red and white striped overalls, watched in agony as High Point’s Chase Johnston scored his first two-point basket of the season to seal the win. “I thought (Wisconsin) played tough,” Matt said. “There was going to be a 5-12 upset and unfortunately it was the Badgers. That’s the tournament. Every year you think your team is going to make a run but …”
Near the basketball court, a table of UNLV fans gathered, including Rob Mullaney, a former UNLV golfer whose son and daughter also graduated from the school. The Rebels haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2013, but they are in the NIT under first-year coach Josh Pastner, heading to Tulsa for a second-round game. “I was happy they won their (first-round) game against UC Irvine,” Mullaney said. “I think the program is going in the right direction right now. It was a little slow to start the season but we’re making progress. They were better at the end than the beginning and I’m happy we’re in a tournament.”
“Massive Madness” is a preview of what Las Vegas will offer in 2028, when the Final Four comes to Allegiant Stadium. General manager Steve Stallworth said the event keeps growing: “Once we brought this into the Exhibit Hall, it just blew up.”
