In the course of less than a week's time, Ohio State went from having Thad Matta as its coach, to firing him, to weaving through hasty and somewhat publicly messy search process, to landing on a solid hire in 45-year-old Chris Holtmann from Butler. 

Now Butler must do what it can, and quickly, to replace a good man and coach. (For a list of BU candidates, check here.)

Since so much has happened over the course of this week, let's shake out some winners and losers from all that's gone down. After all, we almost never see a top-20 job open in the middle of the offseason.  

Winner: New Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann

The 45-year-old has gone from Gardner-Webb to Butler assistant to Butler interim to Butler head coach to Ohio State in less than five years. Now he's going to make approximately $3 million annually and has an eight-year deal at a school that offers up as many resources as any non-blueblood program in the sport. This wasn't an easy call for Holtmann, but the contract and recruiting base and support, well it's a huge win for him. Holtmann was 70-31 at Butler and made the NCAAs and won a Big Dance game every season while the coach of the Bulldogs. 

Loser: Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith

Ohio State fans were ready to protest if Smith wound up hiring Creighton coach Greg McDermott. Prior to that, word leaked that Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg had interest -- before publicly backing out. Xavier coach Chris Mack did as well. When you're the athletic director at one of the five most powerful schools in college sports, and it looks like you fired a fan-favorite coach without a backup plan firmly in place, it's an iffy look. Smith made good in the end by getting Holtmann, a hiring very few will criticize, but the process was too messy. 

Winner: The Big East

It speaks well of the league that Holtmann, McDermott, Mack and Providence coach Ed Cooley all had their names tossed out as reasonable/probable candidates for the OSU gig. There was even one silly tweet that lobbed out Jay Wright as a moonshot candidate alongside Brad Stevens and Sean Miller. The reality is the Big East has a stable of coaches who are both good and on the list of many an athletic director from outside the conference. And it bolsters the Big East to know that Mack and McDermott could've had OSU but turned it down to stay in the league.  

Loser: Butler's basketball program

The Bulldogs, in the moment, are a loser because now the program is forced to get into fourth gear to get a coach in the middle of June. With the live recruiting period in July now less than a month away, it makes for a tough change so soon. With a new coach will come some new assistants and a process of transition that's a lot easier to manage in the early spring than it is on the doorstep of summer. 

Winner: Creighton coach Greg McDermott

The Creighton head man got a big boost of pub, met with Ohio State, and essentially added leverage to his next contract situation. The fact that he was viewed as the frontrunner, then turned down any potential opportunity at a top-15 job, only helps his standing going forward. If the Bluejays make the NCAAs again next season, and a top-30 job opens, McDermott's name is now more likely to be in the mix. 

Loser: Arizona president Robert Robbins

He essentially legitimized his coach, Sean Miller, as a viable candidate and gave more strength to that (ridiculous) notion by stating that Ohio State would take Miller away from Arizona "over my dead body." Hey, it's a good quote, but we all figured Miller wouldn't leave a better job to begin with!   

Winner: Butler's next coach (Identity to be determined)

If I had to guess, Butler AD Barry Collier will pick his guy within a week. Whatever the name is, that person is walking into a tremendous situation. Butler is a top-40 program in all of college basketball (it was borderline top 100 when Brad Stevens took over, back when it was in the Horizon) and the roster is set up to be top-20 quality next season. Getting the Butler job, by nature, qualifies you as a big winner. I'm very interested to see who it will be. 

Loser: Former Ohio State coach Thad Matta

Matta was removed from his post on Monday after 13 years, two Final Fours and 337 victories, the most in OSU history. He sat next to his AD at a press conference in which the AD said Matta's lack of success in recruiting from late March until late May prompted him, Smith, to make the uncommon move of firing Matta in early June. Matta's still battling discomfort in his back and drop foot, fallout from a botched back surgery a decade ago. Matta deserved another year in Columbus. 

To be determined: Ohio State's basketball program

I think Holtmann is a quality hire, but let's not completely lose sight of the fact that he's never coached at this level and Ohio State's current roster situation is bottom-four in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes almost certainly will not be in the NCAA Tournament next year, so Holtmann will have to nab huge wins in recruiting for the class of 2018 and 2019, which boast some five-star talent from inside the state's borders. The ultimate way to frame this: Will Ohio State, over the next five years, be more successful with Holtmann than it would have been with Matta for the same timespan? The thinking is yes, but we can't be totally certain just yet.