MILWAUKEE -- Bruce and Lori Nixon picked the right time to attend the University of Illinois.
The couple -- Bruce hails from Clinton, while Lori is from Aurora -- were season-ticket holders when the likes of Kenny Battle, Kendall Gill and Stephen Bardo guided Illinois to the Final Four in 1989.
"The Illini spirit runs deep," Bruce Nixon said. "It was just a heck of a year. We're proud of being Illinois alumni and being part of that experience. We're hoping to see this year's team put it together just like they did."
Some 36 years later, they were among the very first to arrive at Fiserv Forum on Thursday, well before Kasparas Jakucionis, Morez Johnson Jr. and Kylan Boswell took the floor for an open practice ahead of the NCAA tournament.
"We just want to see the Illini nation come out in strong numbers," Bruce Nixon said.
"Let's have fun. Let's take this thing all the way out of Milwaukee," he said.
The couple is now retired and residing in northern Wisconsin. They have a daughter who attended the University of Kentucky; it could be a house divided if the Illini and Wildcats advance to face each other in the second round.
So it worked out that the Illini got the nod to open the tournament close to home. On the way back home, in fact, from visiting family in Illinois earlier this week.
"We were thinking we were either going to go to Milwaukee or Lexington if the Illini went," Bruce Nixon said. "So this just matched up perfect ... we're really happy with the mix of teams that have gone here, also."
Whether the Nixons are pitted against each other is dependent on Friday's results; Illinois' tournament opener against Xavier is slated for 8:45 p.m., immediately following Kentucky's tilt with Troy.
Either way, count the Nixons as fans of what Brad Underwood has done with the Illini since taking the helm of the program in 2017.
"He has done a great job of getting some great talent," Bruce Nixon said. "We're actually thinking that this might have to be an annual occasion for March Madness. Now that we're retired, we'd like to follow them around and get to see more of these tournaments.
Bloomington native Cameron Bowers -- also among the smattering of Illini fans in Fiserv Forum's lower bowl Thursday -- shares the sentiment.
"I'm a big fan," Bowers said. "We've gone from a program that was in obscurity in the Big Ten to not having to worry about our name being called on Selection Sunday. I think that's a huge thing."
Credit Bowers' grandfather, Rantoul's Bill Shaffner, with inspiring the Milwaukee resident's Illini fandom.
Bowers' -- a bartender in nearby Shorewood, Wis. -- spots orange and blue where he can in the heart of Badger country, where he's lived since 2016.
"That was destined before I was born," Bowers said. "My grandpa has been a donor and season ticket holder for years and years and years. I was so happy come Selection Sunday (to be able to) just come down the street and go watch the boys."
He'll attend Friday's game with a few pals; one from England, another who graduated from Northwestern and, fittingly, a Xavier grad.
Maggie Bartoletti was wearing her school's navy blue and white as they watched the Illini make their final preparations, complete with cheerleaders and a 40-piece basketball band watching from the baseline.
"It's a good little fun rivalry with some friends up here," Bowers said. "You see a lot more orange and blue than you'd think up here, even outside of tournament time. I have a couple regulars who graduated from U of I and live here now who are big time Illinois fans."