As cold rain pelted the windows outside and the Wolverines battled the Spartans on the hardwood, basketball fans sipped beers and snacked on wings at Fricker’s in Maumee.

The game on TV that night ended up being a good one — Michigan couldn’t miss in the first half, but Michigan State players battle back in the second to beat their rivals in maize and blue. It was the sort of late-season contest that college basketball fans crave, especially when the calendar flips over from February and the NCAA’s March Madness tournament approaches.

“Sports is the culture here,” manager Brandon Bortel said. “It’s what brings everybody in year-round.”

With the NCAA tournament slated to start Tuesday, businesses like Frickers can expect an influx of customers fired up for what has become one of the biggest events in the nation’s sports calendar. It’s no coincidence that the event’s popularity is also eagerly awaited each year in Las Vegas, where casinos’ sports books will bustle with rabid sports fans come the tournament’s first tip off.