photo by: Elvyn Jones

KU students, from left, Caroline McCaffnee, a sophomore from Kansas City, Kansas, Josie Heckman, a junior from Kansas City, Missouri, and Ellie Brown, a sophomore from Kansas City, Kansas, pose for a KU Final Four photo beside a Jayhawk statue Saturday, April 2, 2022, in the middle of Massachusetts Street.

Sacie Lambertson slowly strolled across Massachusetts Street late Saturday morning, taking in many blue-clad University of Kansas fans enjoying the pedestrian-friendly experience ahead of Saturday’s Final Four semifinal against Villanova.

At 6 a.m. Saturday, the Lawrence Police Department closed Massachusetts Street from Sixth to 11th streets in anticipation of large crowds heading downtown to celebrate if KU wins the game, which is slated to start shortly after 5 p.m. Game-day changes included a Jayhawk statue in the middle of Massachusetts Street just to the north of Seventh Street, which proved an irresistible photo opportunity for many. Elsewhere, parents and children all decked out in KU gear experienced the novelty of walking in the middle of the street, mixing with KU students getting an early start on their game-day fun.

Lambertson and her husband, David, a retired KU professor, live two blocks east of downtown. They moved there after KU’s last trip to the Final Four, so the downtown Final Four experience is new to them, she said.

“It’s interesting,” she said of the closed street. “I think it will get very busy tonight.”

She was looking forward to the game, but not as much as her husband.

“My husband is a huge KU fan,” she said. “In fact, he had trouble sleeping last night because he was so anxious about the game.”

photo by: Elvyn Jones

Eager Jayhawk fans line up for entry into Logie’s on Mass on Saturday, April 2, 2022, nearly six hours before the KU Final Four game against Villanova begins in New Orleans.

Standing in line to enter Logie’s on Mass, Lily Ogg, a KU sophomore from Kansas City, Kansas, said she was confident the Jayhawks would beat the Wildcats, but not so confident that she would score a seat in the bar even though she and her friends showed up about six hours before tipoff.

“We’ll probably have to stand,” she said. “I’ll be standing six or seven hours. I’ll have to get here earlier on Monday if we win.”

The closure of downtown’s main thoroughfare was an opportunity for Joshua Rukes and other employees of River Rat Skate Shop to do some marketing as they set up two skateboard ramps in the middle of the sunny street and took turns performing jumps and tricks.

Basketball would be the focus of his day, said Rukes, who was eagerly anticipating a Saturday night concert at one of downtown’s music venues.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said of the game-day atmosphere. “It’s going to be a fun day. I’ll probably listen to the game. I grew up a Jayhawk fan, but I’m more into skateboarding now.”

The Jayhawks were foremost on the minds of those coming into Jefferson’s Restaurant, 743 Massachusetts St., said host Kinsey Lake. The closure of Massachusetts Street hadn’t affected Saturday morning business, she said.

“We’ve been busier than usual,” she said. “We’ll probably fill up at 1 p.m. and stay that way until the game is over.”

photo by: Elvyn Jones

KU fans enjoy a closed-off Massachusetts Street hours before KU’s Final Four game against Villanova. The street closed at 6 a.m. Saturday, April 2, 2022.