Before and After: On Butler's Turning Point and Where They Go From Here

The Bulldogs have been a different program following the departure of Chris Holtmann. Can they bounce back in Thad Matta's fourth season?

Butler’s Big East tenure can be divided into two distinct eras: pre-pandemic, when the Bulldogs were perennial NCAA Tournament contenders, and post-pandemic, where instability and underperformance have dimmed the program’s trajectory.

The Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament in four of their first five seasons in the Big East. They were in the Associated Press’ top 15 four times in a six-year stretch, including a #5 ranking in 2020. Had the 2019-20 season not been called due to the pandemic, Butler (22-9 at season’s end) would have reached a fifth tournament in their first seven years in the league.

They won 21+ games in five of six seasons and did damage in the postseason along the way — knocking off Texas in 2015, Texas Tech in 2016, and reaching the Sweet 16 in 2017.

That success coincided with Chris Holtmann’s three-year tenure at the helm. Holtmann led Butler for just three seasons, reaching the NCAAs three times, with tournament seeds of six, nine, and four.

Following Holtmann’s departure, Butler hired LaVall Jordan, who had just one year of head coaching experience — an 11–24 campaign at Milwaukee. The Bulldogs posted a winning conference record only once under Jordan, in his first season.

Jordan was dismissed in 2022, and the program has yet to show meaningful improvement under Thad Matta. The longtime Ohio State coach has led Butler to records of 14–18, 18–15, and 15–20 in his return to his alma mater, where he previously coached for one season in 2001–02 before moving on to Xavier and eventually Ohio State.

This very much feels like a make-or-break year for Matta — the type of season in which the program rallies around him for a surprising NCAA Tournament push, or sees a team of newcomers splintered in a lame duck season.

If Matta is to engineer a turnaround in his fourth season, it will come with a new cast leading the way. Gone are rock-solid contributors Jahmyl Telfort (16.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.4 APG) and Pierre Brooks (15.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG), along with veteran shooter Patrick McCaffery (11.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG). Matta rebuilt this roster behind a strong freshman class and a transfer portal haul that has two intriguing names at the top.