DES MOINES, Iowa — Blue blood is flowing through America’s heartland.
Somehow the biggest city in this hoops-crazy state had never hosted the NCAA Tournament. The waiting, though, seems to be worth it. Des Moines drew powerhouse programs Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana and UConn, setting off a makeshift college basketball festival this week at the downtown Wells Fargo Arena.
Those four programs have won a combined 20 national titles, and local fans showed appreciation for that kind of history.
By the time the Jayhawks took the floor for a highlight-reel hour disguised as a practice, the entire lower bowl of the arena was full, with fans getting an up-close look at some of the nation’s most storied programs.
“It’s terrific for the city,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “I think this is one of those rare moments where (those four big programs) are all in one place together. It should be exciting because it should be some great basketball. It should be some of the exciting stuff that basketball fans want to see, and it should be fun.”
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Indiana coach Tom Crean marveled at the turnout for the shootarounds, which basically consisted of players going through jump-shot lines and ending their sessions with halfcourt heaves, much to the delight of the crowd.
“When we are pulling up and you see all the people on a Wednesday afternoon who are coming in and out of the building for practice, that’s cool,” Crean said. “That really is.”
There is a potential for all four of these storied programs to advance to Saturday’s second-round games here. Fourth-seeded Kentucky would face fifth-seeded Indiana if the two programs beat Stony Brook and Chattanooga, respectively, Thursday. Kansas is the top overall seed, and if it advanced it could face Connecticut, should the Huskies beat Colorado.
The Buffs, of course, are hoping to break up that potential block party. They would prefer to inject a little gold in the blue bloodstream.
Crean excited for Davis. Overland High School fans weren’t the only ones chewing their fingernails when big man De’Ron Davis picked up his third foul in the second quarter of Saturday’s Class 5A state title game against Eaglecrest. Crean, who will be the 6-foot-10 big man’s coach at Indiana next season, was watching the game on television halfway across the country.
“I was nervous when he got that third foul,” Crean told me Wednesday. “I was definitely excited (when Overland won). You want to recruit pure winners. He is a pure winner, and he has been in the spotlight in Colorado a long time.”
Crean has recruited Davis since he was in the eighth grade. He credited Overland coach Danny Fisher and Davis’ AAU team, the Colorado Hawks, for helping mold a player he believes will bring a big boost to the Hoosiers.
“It will be fun to have him,” Crean said, “because he’s going to get nothing but better.”
Nick Kosmider: 303-954-1516, nkosmider@denverpost.com or @nickkosmider
Colorado vs. Connecticut
11:30 a.m. Thursday, TNT
No. 8 Buffaloes 22-11, 10-8 Pac-12
No. 9 Huskies 24-10, 11-7 American
Key matchup:
Colorado’s George King vs. UConn’s Daniel Hamilton. King is the Buffs’ wild card. When he is hot, CU is hard to contain. The redshirt sophomore is averaging 13.8 points per game and shooting a Pac-12-best 45.6 percent from 3-point range. He’ll oppose the Huskies’ most versatile player. Hamilton is third on the team in scoring (12.4 points per game), but he leads UConn in rebounding (8.9) and assists (4.8).
Up high:
A former point guard himself, UConn coach Kevin Ollie has received a big boost at the position this season from graduate transfer Sterling Gibbs, who has averaged 12.0 points per game and has a 1.53 assist-to-turnover ratio. Some of Colorado’s inconsistency during stretches of the season has come back to the point guard spot, where sophomore Dom Collier, freshman Thomas Akyazili and senior Xavier Talton have shared time. That group collectively has averaged 4.1 turnovers per game. Off the ball, Colorado’s Josh Fortune will need to bounce back after shooting only 32 percent (11-of-34) in his past three games.
Down low:
When Colorado is at its offensive best, the inside-out game begins with Josh Scott. Establishing him early will be key for CU, both with inside scoring and the ability to get open, kick-out looks from the perimeter. But the 6-foot-10 Scott (16.1 points per game) will have his work cut out for him against 7-0 UConn junior Amida Brimah. The native of Ghana, who missed 11 games this season with a broken finger, is averaging 2.57 blocks per game. He’s a true rim protector and is active around the rim on both ends. The Buffs will also need continued contributions from 6-9 junior Wesley Gordon, whose 2.9 offensive rebounds per game this season ranked fourth in the Pac-12.
Quote:
“We want to get them sped up a little bit and get them out of their offense. If they’re able to run their offense comfortably, it’s going to be a long (day) for UConn.” — Huskies coach Ollie
The Post’s pick:
Colorado, 57-55. Scott doesn’t want to go 0-3 in his career in the NCAA Tournament. He’ll be the difference in a close game.
