In Lawrence, 'next year' is fans' anthem after Jayhawks get pummeled in Final Four

With about five minutes left in the game and KU down by 19, the estimated 8,000 Jayhawk fans who had gathered in Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday night began their exodus.

More than one fan said, “Next year!” as they left the fieldhouse, where they watched the KU vs. Villanova Final Four game on the big screens above center court.

Some touched the Phog Allen statue one last time for the season. While certainly disappointed at the trouncing by Villanova, many said they were happy the Jayhawks had made it to the Final Four.

“Way above expectations,” said Johnny Russell, a KU grad who works in IT at the university. “Villanova looked like an NBA team. What are you going to do?”

Old fans, young fans, alums and students flocked to Lawrence on Saturday and readied themselves to watch their team in the town KU calls home hours before tip-off. It was a jump-to-your-feet, it’s-our-year kind of joy.

But that hope was gone early and convincingly.

A massive deficit, almost from the get-go, was not what KU fan Donsheé Ashford was expecting.

"We've seen this before," the 28-year-old said during halftime. "We can come back from this, no problem."

That didn’t happen.

Villanova’s three-pointers elicited some not-safe-for-work words from the millennial crowd at Abe and Jake’s Landing in downtown Lawrence, where hundreds packed in for a multiscreen watch party.

The barrage led one fan to turn to a crowd of friends in disbelief.

"Come on, dude, is this real life?" the frustrated Jayhawk supporter said.

Massachusetts Street, the famous part of downtown Lawrence where fans revel in happiness after historic wins, was prepared well in advance for a party, with traffic blocked off and blue and red portable potties standing at the ready.

The police department had more than 200 officers from 22 agencies prepped to control crowds, or, as the department tweeted, "ready to go out and give high fives."

When it was clear they wouldn't be celebrating with partiers, the department tweeted, "OK KU fans, walk out with your heads held high and know we'll be high fiving on Mass Street again next year. It's Lawrence, Kansas and that's what we do."

And then, “We are now working on getting pedestrians out of the street on Massachusetts Street so we can open it back up. With there being no celebration and all …” the department tweeted.

They made no arrests after the game and during the game arrested one person for DUI and one for trespassing, they said.

As Teresa Dobesh watched the game's final minutes fade away at Jefferson’s, she shook her head.

"It is heartbreaking for the players," the 49-year-old said. "But as a fan, we're just excited they made it this far."

Sisters and 2017 KU grads Abbey and Alex Kraatz said they were happy with the season, but they were going to miss some of the guys.

“I’m excited for next season, but I’m going to be sad to see Devonte Graham go,” Alex said.

“Yeah, I’m going to miss Devonte,” Abbey said.

Nathan Hillegas, a KU industrial design student from Lancaster, Pa., just down the road from Villanova, said this one hurt.

“I have some family who went there,” he said. “They sent me some texts. I turned my phone off.”

This story was originally published March 31, 2018 at 11:15 PM with the headline "In Lawrence, 'next year' is fans' anthem after Jayhawks get pummeled in Final Four."