Like a lot of other Lawrence residents, Fred Lowery was decked out in his best Kansas University attire Saturday night. He wore a blue T-shirt with “Jayhawks” emblazoned across the chest.

About 8 p.m., though, he wasn’t at Memorial Stadium or a sports bar, watching a Final Four game on television. He was sitting in the cafe at Borders Books, Music & Cafe, chatting quietly with some friends.

“I’m from Omaha. They’re from Iowa,” Lowery explained. “If they weren’t here (visiting), I’d probably be too nervous to watch anyway.”

Lowery wasn’t the only person in Lawrence who skipped watching the game Saturday. In fact, there were about a half-dozen other people sitting at Borders, reading books or tapping away on laptop computers.

But March Madness clearly consumed most of the town. At Southwind 12 theaters, for example, the parking lot  usually packed on Saturday nights  was a field of mostly vacant asphalt spots.

Linda Baird showed up to watch the 7 p.m. showing of “Ice Age” with a friend. She shrugged when asked why she wasn’t watching Kansas play Maryland.

“It’s what we decided to do,” Baird said. “If I was at home, I’d probably watch it.”

Back downtown, most merchants weren’t even trying to compete with the game. Pat Kehde closed The Raven Bookstore an hour early, at 7 p.m.

“I haven’t had a single soul in here since 5:15 (p.m.),” she said.

Around the corner at Liberty Hall, fans gathered to watch the Yonder Mountain Band. They had to wait, though; the concert was delayed from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. so it wouldn’t conflict with the game.

Tim Griffith, Liberty Hall’s manager, said the strategy appeared to pay off.

“We sold 600 tickets,” he said early in the evening. “And they’re still buying.”

Work continued at Big Daddy Cadillac’s, a downtown tattoo and piercing parlor.

“We’ve got some appointments,” said Taylor Collins, a body-piercing apprentice. “I’m going to be here doing some piercings.”

Tom Newman, a customer awaiting a tattoo across his belly, said business might even pick up.

“The customers might come in more, after getting all drunk,” he said.

At La Prima Tazza coffee shop, Jim Lee tried to work on his comic book art  even though a television had been set up on a nearby counter.

“I might glance up occasionally, but that’s not what I’m here for,” he said. “I figure if I put on my headphones … “