While both Xavier and Butler shared the court at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, they also shared a familiar face in Butler coach Thad Matta. The Butler alum began his career as a head coach with Butler in 2000. Following his short stint with the Bulldogs, he left for a job as head coach of Xavier from 2001-2004. After his time at Xavier concluded, Matta then left and coached at Ohio State for 13 seasons before returning to Butler, his alma mater, in 2022.
Matta finished his tenure at Xavier with a 78-23 overall record, the highest win percentage in Xavier history. During that time, Matta led the Musketeers to back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference Regular Season Championships in 2002 and 2003. Not only that, but he also added three appearances to the NCAA Tournament, including the program's best tournament finish --- an appearance to the Elite Eight in 2004.
In the opening matchup of the 2024 Big East Tournament, rivals Xavier and Butler would meet for the third time this season. The two teams have split the season series, each winning their games in front of the home crowd.
In Matta’s matchup against Xavier, he was handed a loss to his former team, 72-76. Despite the loss, Matta was happy to see how far his team has come this year.
“I haven’t had this much fun coaching a basketball team as I’ve had with these guys in a long, long time,” Matta said. “We came into a program that hadn’t won. To be where we are, in year two, I’m proud of these guys.”
Since Matta’s return to Butler in 2022, the Bulldogs had a less than impressive season, finishing ninth in the Big East with a 14-18 overall record. Matta and Butler had a busy offseason, bringing in six transfers after losing all five of the team’s leading scorers from the season prior.
New additions to Butler this season included junior forward Pierre Brooks II from Michigan State and senior guard Posh Alexander from St. John’s. Although their season may be coming to a close, Brooks spoke about how special of a season he’s had with Matta at the helm.
“I’m really thankful that (Matta) took a chance on me,” Brooks said. “I’m glad I chose this school, and I love to play for Butler.”
Brooks and Alexander were the two leading scorers for Butler in its Big East Tournament loss against Xavier. Brooks finished with 21 points, while Alexander added 14. After the rebuild, the foundation at Butler is set.
“We lose two guys off this team, and hopefully, we can get this thing back and continue to build Butler basketball back to where it needs to be,” Matta said.
With Brooks set to return next season, Matta and the Bulldogs will look to build alongside their star player and look to make a legitimate push in the Big East next season.
dv716221@ohio.edu
