With the college basketball season recently completed and Connecticut emerging from a fractured men’s bracket and winning it all in Houston, you no doubt sense that a great opportunity was lost for Ohio State this spring.

And I agree with you.

In fact, I still believe the Buckeyes had a real chance to go very, very far in the 2010 NCAA Tournament as well. But that March, just like this one, OSU failed to squeak by a dangerous SEC team in the Sweet 16 and suffered an abrupt ending to a highly promising campaign.

If you are like many around the country, you put too much into the postseason and therefore are left believing that no real progress was made this season.

But that simply is not the case. Not only were the Buckeyes a gaudy 34-3, they went 16-2 in Big Ten regular-season play to win the conference title and they also captured the program’s second-straight league tournament crown. They knocked off Florida and Florida State on the road in the preconference portion of the ledger and also clobbered eventual NCAA tourney teams UNC-Asheville, Morehead State and Oakland.

In Big Ten action, the Buckeyes also lit up Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin at home and also survived scares against Michigan and Penn State. In fact, they were undefeated at the Schottenstein Center and very businesslike in key road wins at Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State.

But more than anything, Ohio State played with great cohesion and poise thanks in large part to seniors David Lighty and Jon Diebler and wise-beyond-their-years freshmen Jared Sullinger and Aaron Craft.

William Buford had a terrific junior season in which he shot 44.2 percent from three-point range, averaged 14.4 points per game and ably handled the point guard duties at the outset of games. Senior center Dallas Lauderdale played some of the best basketball of his career and helped provide a safety net for Sullinger inside. Freshman Deshaun Thomas was afforded a role where he could play freely off the bench and came through with several noteworthy performances.

Lighty broke the school record for wins by a player and Diebler set the Big Ten mark for career three-pointers. Each averaged better than 12 ppg. Sullinger was named a first-team All-American and the national Freshman of the Year after leading OSU in scoring (17.2) and rebounding (10.2). Craft led the team in assists and steals and joined Sullinger on the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team.

Granted, the exit of Lighty, Diebler and Lauderdale – along with well-respected practice players Nikola Kecman and Eddie Days – is going to leave quite a hole. Their experience, reliability, versatility and unique skills simply won’t be replaced.

However, OSU fans who assume rough times are now ahead for Thad Matta and the Buckeyes need to come down off the ledge.

First of all, Matta will be ushering in yet another well-rated five-man class that should mesh very well with the returning talent. Secondly, a couple key veterans may return despite projections to the contrary.

And this is now a top-10 program – one that is capable of competing for the Big Ten title virtually every year and being involved in the discussion for national supremacy. In fact, ESPN college basketball analyst Andy Katz recently tabbed Ohio State as the nation’s third-best team going into next season behind Kentucky and North Carolina – two teams that joined OSU in the East Regional in Newark, N.J.

Why is the outlook still so bright? I offer five pertinent reasons:

Sullinger will return. While I can’t say I am as confident about Buford, who unconvincingly claimed he would be back for his senior campaign, Sullinger is rock-solid in his promise to play for the Buckeyes again next season.

Even though the 6-9, 280-pounder received tons of national acclaim and is considered a top-five pick in mock drafts for this summer, he isn’t accustomed to being left at the altar in the postseason. He won a state title his junior year at Columbus Northland and also led his AAU squad to several tournament titles.

“Jared’s a competitor and this is going to eat at him,” Craft, his former AAU teammate, said after OSU lost 62-60 to Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

Sullinger was insistent in the Prudential Center locker room that he would return.

“I’m coming back,” he said. “You’ll see me in the same jersey I had on this year.”

Jared’s father, Satch Sullinger, who was his coach at Northland, had been on record predicting Jared would decide to come back. But apparently Coach Sullinger didn’t pressure his son.

“Me and my dad never talked about this,” Jared said. “Pretty much, he told me it’s my decision, it’s my life, and he wants me to make this decision.”

And Sullinger already had indicated to Matta that he was dead-set on returning.

“Jared has told me all along that he would be back,” Matta said, “and he told me, ‘Draw me up a contract, whatever you want me to sign, I’ll do that.’ Jared enjoys college, he’ll have a great offseason, and he’ll be the best player in college basketball next season.”

After Matta’s comments, several reporters went back over to Sullinger, who only strengthened his words.

“I’m going to be an Ohio State Buckeye next year,” Sullinger said. “Winning is that important to me. I don’t like losing. This is not what I came here to do. This is not what I came here for, to sit here and see my seniors crying. I came here to win a national championship, to see them celebrate. I wanted to see tears of joy with these guys.

“I’m a man of my word. I won’t change my mind for nobody. This is what I want.”

Even with a terrific base for their inside game with Sullinger, the Buckeyes are going to need to develop several of the newcomers to reach his goal of winning a national title.

“It’s his decision and I’m glad he’s decided he wants to come back, but we’ve got a lot of ground to make up for the people we lose this year,” Craft said.

Which leads to …

The incoming class is going to add a different dimension. Matta has signatures from five out-of-state talents: 6-2 point guard Shannon Scott of Georgia, 6-7 swingman Sam Thompson of Chicago, 6-8 wing forward LaQuinton Ross of Mississippi, 6-9 power forward Trey McDonald of Michigan and 6-10 center Amir Williams of Detroit.

Scott is college-ready. His father, Charlie Scott, was a standout player at North Carolina and in the NBA, and Shannon just held his own in the McDonald’s All-American game.

It’s likely Matta already has designs on using Scott with Craft quite a bit next season much like he benefited from having two ball handlers on the court in the national runner-up season of 2006-07 with Mike Conley Jr. and Jamar Butler sharing the court. In fact, if Craft can improve his shooting he could play off the ball much of the time going forward. Scott is natural at distributing the ball and can finish in the lane if need be.

Meanwhile, Thompson is a future defensive stopper on the wing a la Lighty and continues to show improvement when healthy. Ross is a dynamic wing with good size who needs to become tougher and more discerning with the ball, but the upside is there. McDonald was more of a reach but could give the Buckeyes a well-sized four-man with deep shooting range – something Matta has been trying to showcase for years.

And then there’s Williams, another McDonald’s All-American who can play at a high level when motivated. If Williams has an ideal summer in the program, he not only could play a lot as a freshman he also could even start at center and allow Sullinger more freedom away from the basket. Williams is a shot blocker with above-average mobility in the post.

“We’re going to be a little bit bigger in the frontcourt and have a lot more bigs,” Sullinger said. “We redshirted Evan Ravenel. We have Amir Williams at 6-10 and Trey McDonald at 6-9, me. We’re going to have one 6-7 wing (J.D. Weatherspoon) and another 6-8 wing (Ross). We’ve got Deshaun. We’re going to be a little bit bigger in the front court and we’re going to be a pretty big team.”

If this year’s NCAA Tournament proved anything about today’s game it’s that defensive presence, size at all positions and tenacity paid off more than relying on outside shooting and offensive efficiency.

The Buckeyes probably aren’t going to shoot at the same high clip – team percentages of 49.4 from the field and 42.3 from long range – but they should be able to rattle opposing teams defensively and have more depth.

Which leads to …

The returning youngsters also can make an impact. Just because Jordan Sibert and Lenzelle Smith Jr. weren’t always in Matta’s rotation doesn’t mean they aren’t future commodities. Even the 6-7 Weatherspoon, who was ineligible during the Big Ten season, has a chance to work into the mix.

A 6-4 off-guard, Sibert is an All-Big Ten player in waiting. He isn’t afraid to take big shots, can slash to the basket and has the makeup to be a very disruptive defender. Smith is a 6-3 combo guard who doesn’t have much of a role yet but he’s a lethal passer and has good strength with the ball. Weatherspoon is a freakish leaper and a left-handed scorer who has potential in the face-up department.

Ravenel is a sturdy 6-8 power forward who practiced with the team all of last season after transferring from Boston College. He’s a limited role player but has won over his teammates with his attitude and should be able to provide aid as a defender and board man.

Those four players combined with the four key returnees – Sullinger, Buford, Craft and Thomas – and the five freshmen-to-be give Matta 13 legitimate options for the first time since the coach took over the program in 2004.

And now the groundwork for success has been laid.

Which leads to …

The outgoing seniors already have challenged the remaining players to keep up the winning. And when Lighty, Diebler and Lauderdale leave a piece of advice, one tends to listen given all that they accomplished in four-plus years.

“It definitely went fast, and that’s what I told these young guys, to cherish it, love every minute of it and work hard every day because it goes fast,” said Lauderdale, who believes the message already is received.

“The future is looking very bright for these guys and they have a lot of experience. They went through a lot of things this year, the ups and downs, and this definitely is going to be on them. It’s going to be motivation for next year.”

When Lighty was asked what he sees for the program going forward, he didn’t hesitate.

“Bright future,” he said. “The young guys we have here, the young guys we have coming in, the sky is the limit for them. As long as they come in focused and ready to use this as motivation and don’t slack off I think they can be right back in this position next year.”

And Lighty feels so strongly about what the Buckeyes can accomplish next season that he fought through his emotions moments after his final game in scarlet and gray to motivate guys like Sullinger, Craft and Thomas.

“When you get here you never think about it ending,” he said. “It’s not about the name on the back, it’s about the name that’s going across your chest. That’s what you do this for.”

Added Sullinger, “This is the way the team is supposed to be – tight chemistry, love, respect for one another. We can’t let the young guys come in here and change that.”

After Ohio State, made it all the way to the title game in 2007, lost freshmen Greg Oden, Conley and Daequan Cook to the draft and failed to make the NCAA Tournament the following year, the perception was that Matta had sold his soul to make a deep run. The reality, however, is that the 2008 Buckeyes won the NIT and have been building major momentum ever since.

OSU returned to the Big Dance in 2009, won the Big Ten and and league tournament the next year and made it all the way to the top of the polls this past season. The remaining players know the next step is to advance deeper in the postseason, and they now know what it takes to get there.

Which leads to …

The 2011-12 Buckeyes might be even better suited for a run at the Final Four. There will be growing pains. There will be missteps. There will be shifts in the rotation.

And there will be experts reluctant to pick Ohio State to go far given that Lighty, Diebler and Lauderdale walk out the door with 41.8 percent of the Buckeyes’ minutes from last season, 37.5 percent of the scoring, 28.7 percent of the rebounding and 57.9 percent of the team’s made three-pointers. Those figures, of course, go up significantly if Buford joins them.

But at closer look Ohio State still should be favored to win the Big Ten and may actually peak at just the right time with so much young talent sure to rise by late in the season.

And even if the Buckeyes don’t win their conference and struggle to find an immediate identity, they need only to look at the example of UConn 2010 to know that a late surge can still go a very long way – like all the way to the winner’s circle.