Football still so dominated the emotions of the masses on the Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend that the visit of a touted Arizona basketball team, which should have been the highlight of the nonconference home schedule, didn’t generate much excitement.

So exhausted were Kansas University sports fans – from a football comeback against Missouri that fell short and from the horrendous Arrowhead Stadium traffic woes – it seemed, they had little left to invest in basketball. The students didn’t show up. The rest were more quiet than usual.

A 76-72 overtime victory against Arizona, which featured a 55-foot, near-miss heave by Brandon Rush at the end of regulation, if played a few weeks later, would have had a much greater impact. It came and went without much fanfare.

It’s easy to see how the same could happen with the KU football team’s spring football game, rescheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff today at Memorial Stadium.

It has been only a week since Darrell Arthur hit a jumper with 1:57 left in regulation to trim the Memphis lead to seven points, the beginning of the end of John Calipari’s sure hold on the national title. More emotions were spent Sunday at the parade, many of them from behind the wheel. The spring game originally was scheduled for Saturday, so saving the date wasn’t an option. The weather.com forecast for kickoff calls for 52 degrees and little wind, comfortable for those wise enough to dress in layers.

All signs point to a small gathering, but KU football fans are capable of pulling off surprises. Some have been known to demonstrate a resentment over the team having to toil in the shadows of the perennial powerhouse basketball program. Given that and the game representing a chance for the fan base to thank the players for a 12-1 season, an Orange Bowl victory and a too-low No. 7 ranking, maybe the forecast of a small crowd will be off base.

If Sunday’s parade capped off a year in which the football and basketball teams combined for an unthinkable 49-4 record, the spring game offers a sneak preview to the next school year.

James McClinton, Aqib Talib, Anthony Collins, Marcus Henry, Derek Fine and Brandon McAnderson are gone. Will Joe Mortensen, rehabbing from serious knee surgery, recover in time for the season-opener against Florida International? Brandon Rush’s quick return should encourage him.

Not only is quarterback Todd Reesing (33 touchdown passes, seven interceptions) back, but so is the team’s swagger that enabled it to think it could compete with any team. Texas and Oklahoma are on the schedule, which should do nothing but instill even more confidence in Reesing (six touchdown passes against Nebraska).

Dexton Fields, Dezmon Briscoe, Kerry Meier and whichever young speedster emerges will give Reesing plenty of targets to show off his accurate deep ball.

Jake Sharp, Carmon Boyd-Anderson and Angus Quigley figure to get the most carries tonight, but don’t let that fool you. As early as next fall, Jocques Crawford (1,935 yards and 19 touchdowns on way to national juco offensive player-of-the-year honors) could be the workhorse.

For now, it will be interesting to see how Lawrence responds to a rare taste of Monday Night Football.