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Check out all the college hoops action on the cheap at these bars.

Monday Mar 16, 2009.     By Centerstage Chicago Staff

Bars + Clubs Feed

It's called the most exciting three weeks in sports. Every year, the 65 best college basketball teams are whittled down to one national champion. It's a smorgasbord of TV watching, and these bars have specials to make the action even better.

Just want to watch the games with fellow alums? Check out this comprehensive list of NCAA-affiliated bars.

The Central and Grand Central
Drink $3 bottles MGD 64, Coors and Miller Lite drafts, as well as $12 MGD/Coors buckets throughout the tournament. Also choose from a select $5 March hoops food menu.

McGee's
Tournament specials include $1 bottles, $3 import drafts and $3 margaritas.

Belly's
Get $2 gameday shots, $5 Stoli cocktails and $15 Miller/Coors buckets at this Lakeview bar, which opens at 11 a.m. every day of the tournament.

Jake Melnick's Corner Tap
For the duration of the tournament, Jake's will be serving the Madness Burger -- a 9-oz. burger topped with pepper jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and a fried egg served between two grilled cheese sandwiches, paired with a Miller Lite pint for $9.99. Everyone who orders the Madness Combo will also be entered to win prizes like an iPod touch. Jake's will also be giving away $5 drink vouchers (instantly redeemable) to all people wearing gear for teams in the tourney.

Full Shilling
The popular Wrigleyville bar will be giving away free stuff all tournament long. With more than 100 Miller Lite scratch & win tickets, this lottery-style party will give everyone a chance to win. Prizes include mp3 player speaker coolers, aluminum bottle wraps, hats, T-shirts, bottle openers and more. Pitchers of Miller Lite will be on special for $7 throughout the tournament.

Rockit Bar & Grill
March 26, 6-8 p.m.
Watch the games for a good cause at RedHot March Madness. A $40 ticket includes drinks and snacks, and the proceeds benefit Primo Center for Women and Children, a transitional homeless shelter on the west side of the city.

Moretti's (West Loop)
April 6
Watch the championship game on over 25 big screen TVs, including 4 super bright HD plasmas. Celebrate with $16 (6 beers) buckets of Miller Lite and win prizes, including an iPod Nano in a basketball case, an in-home electronic Pop-A-Shot game and a Moretti's pizza every month for a year.

O'Donovan's
Get there early to watch all the games on this friendly North Center bar's 20 plasma TVs throughout the bar, party room and patio while sipping on $10 Miller Lite and Coors Light pitchers. The bar will offer daily lunch and dinner specials all tournament.

Smoke Daddy
Celebrate all things Purdue: Smoke Daddy owner Josh Rutherford is a former Boilermaker mascot, so you know the place will be decked out in black-and-gold. Enjoy $4 Bud Light mugs and $7 imported mugs (22 ounces)during all tournament games. And a Purdue-themed menu will be available throughout the tournament, including the Boiler Burger, Mackey's Mac and Cheese and Purdue Pete's Pulled Pork Sandwich.

Harry Caray's
The Wrigleyville bar will offer $15 buckets of Milller Lite and Coors Light throughout the tournament. Harry Caray's (Lombard) will offer $2 Bud and Bud Light drafts with commemorative March Madness pint glasses on all game days.

Kroll's South Loop
Drink $5 20-ounce Miller Lite stadium cups and $4 select shots and eat specials like the "Madness Burger" and "Sweet Sixteen Wings," all while watching all the games on Kroll's two-dozen TVs. You can also enter a raffle for an Apple iTouch and other prizes, as well as enter a Pop-a-Shot contest during the Sweet Sixteen games.

Merkle's Bar and Grill
Enjoy $4 22-ounce drafts and $5 bombs, along with 25-cent wings during all tournament games. You can also enter to win two free tickets to the Final Four. And on March 28, enter Merkle's Sweet 16 flip cup tournament with cash prizes for the top teams.

Timothy O'Toole's
With 45 TV screens, if you miss any of the action at this Streeterville hangout, it's your own fault. Enjoy award-winning wings (the hot wings won first place at the recent WingFest) while taking advantage of daily drink deals that include $2 drafts on Saturdays and $16 Miller/Coors buckets on Sundays.

Cactus Bar & Grill, Franklin Tap and Martini Bar
Drink $3 Miller Lite 20-ounce drafts during all tournament games.

Lucky Strike Lanes
Buy a $6 Sam Adams pint glass and get $4 refills; plus you get to keep the glass. Or get $20 buckets of Sam Adams Light.