Where to watch Final Four games with fans and alumni

While no Midwestern schools made it to the Final Four this year (sob), there are still plenty of Villanova, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Syracuse fans in Chicago and the suburbs who will gather Saturday night to watch the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament games.

TVs at suburban sports bars should be tuned to the games, but if you want to watch with lively fans and crowds of alumni, you might need to organize your own bar bash or head into Chicago. Here are a few big gathering spots in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood for fans of the Final Four teams:

Villanova:

Derby Bar & Grill, 1224 W. Webster Ave., (773) 248-0900

The official home of the Chicago Alumni Chapter for Villanova, Derby will offer $5 Stadium Cups of Bud Light on game day. They're also flying in Hope's Cookies (trust us, these are good) from Philadelphia for the game, and will be serving Philly cheesesteaks.

Oklahoma:

Barn & Company, 950 W. Wrightwood, Chicago, (773) 832-4000

Members of the Oklahoma University Club of Chicago will meet here to eat barbecue and take advantage of drink specials, such as $15 Bud Light and mixed buckets.

North Carolina and Syracuse:

Gamekeepers, corner of Lincoln and Armitage avenues, (773) 549-0400

A regular spot for Chicago Carolina Club game-watching parties, this bar used to be a big Syracuse bar and still has a few Syracuse flags hanging inside. So expect fans from both teams when they square off in the tourney. If you haven't been here in a while, it's been recently remodeled, and still has a large beer and bar food menu.

Syracuse:

Dinosaur BBQ, 923 W. Weed St., (312) 462-1053

A Chicago outpost of the popular Syracuse, New York-based restaurant chain, Dinosaur BBQ will be the meeting place of Syracuse alumni who come to eat the restaurant's award-winning chicken wings and take advantage of game drink specials. They're not taking reservations that night, so it'll be first-come, first-served for the tables.

Final Four game times

The Villanova vs. Oklahoma game starts at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 2, on TBS. Syracuse vs. North Carolina follows 40 minutes after the first game ends.