SAN FRANCISCO — The sirens from Duke's police escort sounded in the distance before three black buses turned down Mason Street and slowly pulled alongside the curb in front of the Blue Devils' team hotel on a sunny and warm Tuesday afternoon.
"I think that's them," a man outside said to one of his colleagues, "if you want to go ahead and get everyone lined up." Soon enough the people that worked inside hotel formed two lines outside the entrance while the buses arrived and began to empty.
Duke had arrived in San Francisco for the NCAA Tournament's West Regional, which begins Thursday. The arrival set off a buzz of anticipation among the hotel employees, who did not seem the most familiar with the NCAA Tournament or their guests from the other side of the country.
"Should we clap for them?" one of the workers asked.
"Yeah, clap!" another said.
And so they clapped.
One hotel employee awkwardly held a basketball in her arms, as if she'd heard the new arrivals liked basketball and might appreciate the sight of one as they walked into the hotel. Coach Mike Krzyzewski and his wife, Mickie, were the first ones off the bus and inside.
It was as if they were arriving at a Hollywood premiere, people lined up on either side just to see them walk into a building, and one hotel worker looked at Krzyzewski and asked, to no one in particular: "Is that the big cheese?"
Indeed it was.
Krzyzewski on Sunday won his 1,200th game, and earned it during Duke's survival of Michigan State in the second round in Greenville, S.C. The Blue Devils had surrendered a nine-point lead and then overcame a five-point deficit with five minutes to play to advance.
This is the 26th time Krzyzewski has led a team into the Sweet 16, but this particular trip conjures some dubious history: The Blue Devils have never won a game in the West Regional. They made it this far in 2016, 2011 and 2003, only to lose in the regional semifinal and take a long flight home. If this trip is to be any different, Duke, the No. 2 seed in the West, must at least defeat third-seeded Texas Tech here on Thursday night.
Duke now has two days to get ready. The Blue Devils carried their bags inside their hotel, where a large NCAA Tournament bracket greeted them near the back of the lobby, and made their way to the elevators, where blue and white balloons hung over the ornate railing above them. Their hotel, the Fairmont, was built in 1905 and it is full of marble and gold-plated accents.
A bellman outside could tell stories of the luminaries he'd seen walk through the doors over the years, from Joe Montana to Dick Vitale to David Robinson and a long list of others. The bellman was hoping he'd be able to get a picture sometime with Krzyzewski, but it wasn't going to be now, after Krzyzewski walked in quickly and picked up his keys.
His players followed. Soon they were all back downstairs, and out the door for a meeting.
Duke had traveled almost 3,000 miles to arrive here, where it'll seek to do what many Duke teams have in attempting to make a Final Four. None of those trips, though, came through the West.
