Sure, three overtime games – wins against Memphis and East Carolina and a loss at UConn – preceding Wednesday's NCAA Tournament status-stunting double-overtime loss at Fifth Third Arena to Central Florida (UCF) exposed red flags any basketball novice could see.
But even directly after the University of Cincinnati men's basketball team's thrilling road victory earlier this month at Wichita State, arguably the Bearcats' most meaningful moment of the season to that point, Brannen warned of a flaw that had to be fixed.
That didn't happen. Instead, the issue did the Bearcats in on Wednesday, losing 89-87 to a Knights team UC dropped by 14 points a month ago in Orlando.