Kevin Willard is becoming a tournament regular. His 10th-seeded Pirates boarded a chartered flight for Jacksonville, Fla., on Tuesday night – the first of many distinctions between this preparation and the build-up to his first NCAA Tournament as a head coach in 2016.
That week in March 2016 was one of firsts for Willard: from the dramatic Big East Tournament triumph on Saturday to the subsequent NCAA Tournament inauguration on Thursday. The 2016 Pirates were given a six-seed that year and rocketed two time zones west, to Denver, Colo., where they faced Gonzaga; labeled an 11-seed, but with tournament pedigree and knowhow.