USA TODAY
Hall of Fame men s basketball coach Rick Pitino is heading back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since he lost his high-profile job at Louisville four years ago.
Pitino, now the head coach at Iona, piloted the Gaels (12-5) to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Tournament final victory, defeating Fairfield 60-51 on Saturday to receive the MAAC s automatic bid and be among the 68 teams set to play in Indianapolis next week.
Iona finished in third place in the regular season, going 6-3 in league play. The Gaels had more than a month of postponements due to COVID-19, not playing all of January. Pitino was one of the outspoken coaches critical of the NCAA for starting the season in late November amid the height of the coronavirus pandemic.