On March 4, Ohio State vanquished rival Michigan State. The win gave the Buckeyes a share of the Big Ten men’s basketball regular-season title and set Ohio State up for another solid run in the conference tournament.

It all unfolded as expected, with Ohio State running the field to meet Michigan State again Sunday, only this time the Spartans got the best of the Buckeyes.

It’s been that kind of season for Ohio State, which looked like the dominating force in college basketball after pounding Duke at home early in the season. But the truth started to unfold — this is a good team, but perhaps not a great one.

Sure, Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft are two of the best in the country at their respective positions. But the team still has holes — holes just big enough to question whether Ohio State has a deep NCAA tourney run in them.

Jon Diebler graduated, leaving a lack of an outside threat. David Lighty went with him, leaving the team without its heart and soul. OSU is loaded with talent but is young. That is a shame because — with the NBA draft always looming — good young teams usually don’t get a chance to grow up.

It says a lot about Ohio State that the Buckeyes can make the conference tournament finals, stay in the top 10 of the polls the entire season and still come out as if they haven’t lived up to their potential. The thanks for that can be given to coach Thad Matta, who made Ohio State into a powerhouse.

He’s given OSU fans reason for those big expectations. Whether Matta fulfills them depends on how he can fill those holes this March.