Atlantic 10 Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

3. Thad Matta – Xavier (2001-2004)

Before his fantastic success at Ohio State, Matta’s head coaching career began with brief stints with both Butler and Xavier, long before they were Big East programs. He had been an assistant at a number of schools before getting the Butler job in 2000, leading them to an NCAA Tournament and upset win in his lone season in Indianapolis. He relocated to Xavier in 2001 and the results were immediate.

In each of Matta’s three seasons with Xavier, the Musketeers made the NCAA Tournament and won 26 games. In his first two seasons, they won the Atlantic 10 regular-season title, while his 2004 team marched to the Elite Eight as a 7-seed before falling to Duke. He won more than 80% of conference games and solidified Xavier’s place as one of the country’s best mid-major programs.

Matta did fantastic work upon leaving for Ohio State in 2004, leading the Buckeyes to a pair of Final Fours and a ton of Big Ten success. He left the Xavier program in capable hands and continued building something marvelous for the program. Matta’s hard work and on-court success helped lay the foundation for Xavier’s move to the Big East nearly a decade later and it’s clear that Matta had a profound effect on every program he worked with.