Oakland University students, alumni and fans gathered at Buffalo Wild Wings for the men’s basketball team’s first round of the NCAA Tournament against Pittsburgh Friday afternoon.

The party was held at the sports bar in Rochester Hills at the corner of Walton and Livernois. Fans began crowding the restaurant well in advance of the game’s scheduled 2:45 p.m. tip off.

There were hardly any seats left open by the time the game finally began at 3:08 p.m. The crowd cheered loudly as the Grizzlies were introduced grew louder as Oakland jumped out to an early 18-13 lead.

The game took a turn for the worst for Oakland fans as Pittsburgh went on a big scoring run to take a 39-26 lead into halftime. While Pittsburgh took the game 89-66.

Watch party attendees included Rochester Hills mayor Bryan Barnett and WDIV reporter Katrina Hancock.

“I liked the first half of the first half,” Barnett said, referring to the first ten minutes of the game.

Barnett said that it was great to see so many Oakland University students and alumni in attendance and that the event had brought the community together.

“It’s a blast,” Barnett said. “It’s a great thing for the whole area.”

Joe Snyder, a member of OU’s swim team that won four national championships in the mid-90’s, was also in attendance.

“It’s fun,” Snyder said. “It’s good to see a lot of people out supporting Oakland.”

Despite the end score, fans remained enthusiastic as the game drew to a close. Every Oakland basket was met with loud cheers and applause.