Seen and heard at Kansas State: On Townsend's absence, Wabash Cannonballs and lots of lavender

MANHATTAN, Kansas – Still under concussion protocol, Arizona forward Trey Townsend was neither seen nor heard Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum.

Arizona did not update Townsend’s status before Tuesday’s game nor respond to inquires of whether he made the trip on Monday, so Townsend’s expected absence could not be confirmed until the Wildcats walked into Bramlage Coliseum without him.

Townsend fell on the back of his head early in the second half of UA’s Feb. 4 win at BYU, but his status has been a question since then. He did not return to the BYU game because of the fall but did not report concussion symptoms until after the Wildcats returned to Tucson.

Then, UA coach Tommy Lloyd said he thought things were “business as usual” on Feb. 7 when asked about Townsend, but Townsend did not play or show up at McKale the next day when UA played Texas Tech.

But because concussion protocols usually last for at least a week, Townsend was not expected to play Tuesday against K-State.

Lavender love

Tuesday’s game was K-State’s annual “all-lavender” contest, where the home Wildcats wore lavender shorts and tops that were outlined in white and dark purple, honoring the look they had in the 1970s and 1980s. Students also largely wore lavender, sitting all along the east sideline sections and across from both teams’ benches.

K-State’s uniform choice allowed Arizona to wear its navy blue “1997-style” uniforms, largely preferred by the Wildcats for their look and the fact that they won the NCAA title in them that season.

Little did he know

When a Kansas State music instructor took the sheet for “Wabash Cannonball” home with him one night in 1986, he wound up starting a rocking tradition that continued before Tuesday’s game.

The K-State band belted out the American folk classic, while four full sections of lavender-clad students rocked back and forth, led by cheerleaders who did the same.

It’s a tradition that started because a campus fire completely burned down K-State’s music building, taking all the sheet music with it. Except that one for Wabash Cannonball.

When the K-Wildcats held a home basketball game three days after the fire, the band played the song over and over, because it was the only sheet music they had, and the Wabash Cannonball stuck around.

Chill(ed)

While Kansas State students lined up as early as 7 a.m, for an early afternoon game with Kansas last Saturday, they were a little less enthusiastic Tuesday.

They didn’t start showing up until about two hours before the 7 p.m. local time tipoff, a possible result of classes earlier Tuesday, cold weather and the fact that K-State wasn’t playing its instate rival. Or even a familiar Big 12 opponent.

“We just haven’t played ‘em enough,” said K-State freshman Cole Billings of Arizona.

Billings and fellow freshmen Brayden Fulton and Luke Gabbert said students typically line up earlier for games against KU and Iowa State. On Tuesday, the three stood midway through the line, having to spend less than an hour in line.

That was probably a good thing: Temperatures sank into the low 20s as the afternoon went on, with a major snowstorm predicted later Tuesday night.

Red streak

All that lavender inside Bramlage Colisuem made Arizona’s small red rooting section pop.

Just behind the UA bench, eight members of the Wildcats’ traveling party wore red tops while another two wore red hats.

Among them: Attorney Ali Farhang and Neal Weitman, the father of fifth-year UA guard Grant Weitman.

Unrated

Among the freebies available Tuesday at Bramlage was a cactus-lined poster commemorating Kansas State’s 44-41 win over Rutgers in the Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix on Dec. 28.

As of about 30 minutes before the game, the posters appeared untouched.

The big number

43 – Years since Arizona played a men’s basketball game in Manhattan, Kansas, losing to K-State 63-55 in the 1981-82 season.