A basketball standout for the Cornjerkers at Hoopeston-East Lynn High School in Hoopeston, Illinois, Matta was a two-year starter for the Butler University Bulldogs in three seasons after transferring from Southern Illinois University as a sophomore. He led Butler in assists (1000) and three-point field goal percentage (.433) in 1987–88 and in free-throw percentage in 1988–89 (.872). He served as a team captain (one of the Butler tri-captains that year) on Barry Collier’s first team in 1989–90 and finished his career in sixth place on Butler’s all-time list for free-throw percentage (.800). He earned a B.S. degree from Butler in 1990. Matta enjoyed his Butler career-high point total of 21 points against Xavier University at the Cincinnati Gardens on March 2, 1989.

Matta rejoined Butler University’s staff in 1997 and helped the Bulldogs to three consecutive 20-win seasons. He established himself as one of the nation’s best young coaching prospects during a six-year assistant coaching stint. In his three seasons as Barry Collier’s top assistant, Butler compiled a 67–29 (.698) record, won two Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament championships and one MCC regular-season title, made two NCAA tournament appearances and earned one NIT berth. He served as Butler’s primary recruiter.

At Xavier, Matta led the Musketeers to three consecutive 26-win seasons, back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season championships in 2002 and 2003 and two league tournament titles in 2002 and 2004. Xavier advanced to three NCAA tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2004 following two second-round trips.

Matta, a finalist for the 2002–03 Naismith National Coach of the Year Award, was hired as the 13th head coach in Ohio State history on July 7, 2004 after the school had fired previous coach Jim O’Brien. No time was wasted preparing for his first season in Columbus, which culminated in a 65–64 victory over undefeated and top–ranked University of Illinois in the regular-season finale at Value City Arena before a packed house and a national television audience. The Buckeyes’ final record for the 2004–05 campaign was 20–12, but were ineligible from postseason play.

In the 2005–06 season Matta led the Buckeyes to an outright Big Ten Championship for the first time since 1992, finishing one game ahead of Iowa and Illinois. The Buckeyes’ season came to an end during the second round of the NCAA tournament when they lost to Georgetown on March 19, 2006. Their final overall record was 26–6. The Buckeyes were thought to be a year away from competing for the league crown, as they were to add a highly regarded recruiting class, dubbed the “Thad Five”, led by center Greg Oden of Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis for the 2006–07 season. The Buckeyes did win the Big Ten and Matta led Ohio State all the way to the national championship game, where they lost to Florida.

In 2009, Ohio State went to the NCAA Tournament, but were eliminated in the first round by Siena. In 2010, the Buckeyes won a share of the Big Ten and the 2010 conference tournament title. In the NCAA tournament they beat UC–Santa Barbara in the first round 68–51. The next round they beat Georgia Tech 75–66, but went on to lose to Tennessee in the Sweet 16.

In the 2010–11 season, Matta’s Buckeyes were 29–2, ranked #1 in all polls (16–2 in conference play), and won the outright Big Ten Championship. The Buckeyes beat Penn State on March 13 to win their 2nd consecutive Big Ten Tournament title. The Buckeyes were the overall number one seed in the 2011 NCAA tournament and the number one seed in the Eastern bracket, where the Buckeyes won two games in Cleveland before losing to eventual Eastern regional champion Kentucky.

In the 2012–13 season, Ohio State finished second in the Big Ten regular season, one game behind league champion Indiana. The Buckeyes went on to win the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago, which was Matta’s fourth Big Ten Tournament championship. The Buckeyes were a 2 seed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. They lost in the Elite Eight to Wichita State.

On March 12, 2015, Matta set a school record for victories, winning his 298th game for OSU after defeating Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament.

On June 5, 2017, Matta mutually agreed with Ohio State to step down as their head coach due to his long time health issues that were causing a decline in team performance and recruiting. His final season at Ohio State was the only in Matta’s entire career that he failed to achieve at least 20 wins.