Ohio State fans made up their mind on March 20, 2014.
The Dayton Flyers, with their hotshot 35-year-old head coach, had just upset Aaron Craft and the Buckeyes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on a last-second layup by Vee Sanford. Dayton would go on to reach the Elite Eight, and followed that up with three more NCAA Tournament appearances in the next three years.
Ohio State, meanwhile, reached the Big Dance the next year, but missed out in both 2015-16 and 2016-17. It was obvious that Thad Matta wasn't the same coach as he once was, but it appeared that Ohio State was willing to give him one more shot in 2017-18.