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DETROIT — Suzanne Duncan, a born-and-bred Indiana University fan, was hanging out with a group of friends in Indianapolis midway through the 2000 basketball season when a particularly boisterous UNC alumnus introduced himself and started lauding the Tar Heels’ chances that year.

“If it’s a cold day in hell and Carolina makes it to the Final Four, give me a call,” she told him.

Weeks later, after the Tar Heels ran the table the rest of the regular season, Duncan’s phone rang.

“Hey, it’s Scott,” the voice said. “Remember me? It’s a cold day in hell.”

Carolina’s Final Four game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis was Suzanne and Scott’s first date. A few years later, they were married. They live in Greensboro now, and they flew up to Detroit on Friday to watch the Tar Heels play, just as they’ve traveled to every UNC Final Four appearance of the past decade.

March always brings a smile to their faces. “People say, 'What’s the big deal about kids shooting jumpshots?’” Suzanne said. “A couple jumpshots changed our life.”

The Duncans are far from the only local fans to trek north. More than 15,000 people packed Ford Field on Friday afternoon to take in the open practices of the last four college basketball teams standing. And though the overwhelming majority were decked out in green and white to support the hometown Michigan State Spartans, the second-largest contingent by far was there to root on North Carolina, which plays Villanova at 8:47 p.m. tonight.

For the first time, the NCAA set aside 400 reduced-price floor-level tickets for each school’s student section, a lottery that UNC senior James Ludemann, who grew up in Greensboro, signed up for as soon as he could after Carolina beat Oklahoma last Sunday.

On Monday night, Ludemann found out he’d be heading to Detroit with four friends and crashing at a mutual acquaintance’s house, the cost-effective epitome of a college road trip.

Ludemann had just returned from a mission trip to New Orleans, a 27-hour round trip, so he knows how to make the hours fly by.

“IPod games,” he said.

The student seats at Ford Field are on the turf behind either basket, and with the court raised six feet off the ground, Ludemann has no clue what kind of view he’ll have.

“But I don’t care if I have to watch on the video boards the whole time,” he said. “You can’t ask for anything better than that.”

But the real drama was which lucky Carolina shirts to pack? He only had a few dozen to pick from.

“My bag’s already overflowing,” he said.

Donna Walton also was having a bit of a wardrobe crisis. She, her husband, Rick, and their two kids, Kris, 10, and Brooke, 8, made their first trip to Detroit to watch their beloved Tar Heels. Donna spent the week lugging out already-packed-away winter wear in preparation for the forecast cold — possibly snowy — weather.

“We’ve got plenty of Carolina gear, no matter what the season,” she said.

The Waltons are Rams Club members and go see their team as often as they can. Brooke has developed a special affinity for former Dudley standout William Graves, who recognizes her now and always greets her with a bear hug. Donna has been waiting more than 25 years to take in the revelry of a Final Four, and now that the stars have finally aligned to take her to one, she’s making sure to savor every moment.

“I hate to be cliche-ish,” she said, “but this really feels like a team of destiny. They had so much put on them, and these kids are 21, 22 years old. When I think about the pressure they’ve been under, I think I can control my emotions until Monday.”

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com