Lines grew longer by the minute outside the Target Center gates on Saturday with eager college basketball fans hoping to snag a good seat ahead of the two semifinal games.
Game one featured #1 Indiana and #4 Ohio State with #2 Iowa and #3 Maryland squaring off later in the day.
Stan Doddridge and his daughter Lexie were among a few of the Ohio State Buckeyes fans in line.
"Obviously we're hugely outnumbered by Iowa and Indiana fans," Stan said with a laugh. "We're not used to that. Normally with Ohio State Football even for away games we a lot of times have a majority of the crowd. For women's basketball, it's quite different."
Both Stan and Lexie traveled to Minneapolis from Ohio to support their Buckeyes in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament.
"I'm a full supporter of women's sports so just seeing the amount of people supporting all of the Big Ten teams, I think that's pretty great," Lexie said. "It's just crazy seeing a lot Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, and Ohio State fans. It's just awesome to see the support."
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The lines forming ahead of the two games on Saturday were mostly filled with Iowa fans sporting their black and gold.
"We just want to get a good seat for the Iowa game," said Jenni Jarr who traveled with her family from Moulton, Iowa located just north of the Missouri border. "Indiana had a good turnout yesterday, we had an even better one. We just want to make sure we have good seats where want to be and get a good view."
Of course Iowa and non-Iowa fans were buzzing about Iowa junior Caitlin Clark. The Big Ten Player of the Year has continued to capture the national spotlight and many in line hoped to see another highlight reel performance on Saturday.
"I grew up playing basketball when I was a little girl and I just know there's a lot of little girls and boys that look up to her," Jarr said. "She's definitely changing the game."
Even Ohio State fans were adamant about Clark's impact on the game.
"You gotta respect her," Lexie Doddridge said. "She's one heck of an athlete and is someone you want on your team and someone you don't want to guard. She's good."
Saturday's winners take the court in the championship game at 4 p.m. on Sunday.