80 minutes may seem like a long time, but in the grand scheme of a college basketball season, it’s nothing more than a blip.

Those 80 minutes of basketball in Kansas City versus Illinois (20-point win) and Arkansas (six point loss) made this team look like something it’s not — an NCAA tournament team.

The tournament was never really a goal for this season. Of course, the expectations at UC are high, but the roster just wasn’t very talented.

72 hours after the hard-fought loss to Arkansas, Monmouth came into Fifth Third Arena and won. We should have taken that as a sign that this team wasn’t going to be a dominant force.

I’m not going to sit here and say there weren’t some disappointing losses this year, but there is still reason for optimism.

For one: The calvary is coming. Danny Skillings, Josh Reed, and Sage Tolentino are three top-150 recruits that will add length to a team that had very little athleticism this year.

If a scholarship or two comes open, Wes will also have a full off-season to work the transfer portal this spring. The portal was mostly picked over when he took the job last April.

“This is the lowest point in program history.”

I laugh at this sentiment. Cincinnati won 3 games in 1983. The 80s were terrible. In 2006, Mick Cronin inherited Branden Miller and Ron Allen. This isn’t that dire.

Notable finishes in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin for Cincinnati:

2006-2007: 141

2007-2008: 102

2008-2009: 86

2020-2021: 116

2021-2022 (not including conference tournament): 104

After Cincinnati’s 80-58 loss to Houston, Wes didn’t mince words. He was pissed, but I liked what he said.

“Damn right, I think about big picture. I mean, yeah. I want us to be the team that kicks people’s ass by 22. Kicks people’s ass on board. Digs down and doesn’t let you have good shots and gets shot clock violations and executes the heck out of offense to get easy baskets. So yeah, you take it to heart, you take it personally. We got some work to do to get there, and I believe we can.”

I believe we can too, Coach.

I know the Big 12 is looming and it will be an absolute bear of a basketball league, but it’s amazing how quickly a roster and influx of talent can change a program in a year or two.

Iowa State went 2-22 last year. T.J. Otzelberger inherited a four-star point guard, added a few key pieces from the portal and this year they’re setup to be a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

In Danny Hurley’s first few years at UConn, they struggled in the AAC. Now, they’re back to their old form in a strong Big East.

Comparing coaching transitions can be tricky, especially after how turbulent last off-season was for Cincinnati.

But when I watched the team this year, I never thought that the effort wasn’t there. I just think they’ve hit a wall and they overachieved for the first 15-20 games.

They could’ve packed it in for the season after the dreadful USF loss, but they played a strong first half at Houston and had SMU on the ropes last week.

This roster was never really designed to win. It’s a bunch of undersized guards and is bereft of a big man that can consistently score in the post.

At no fault of their own, most of these players are in roles way too big for them. You can’t ask David DeJulius to take 15-20 shots every game and expect him to be an efficient player (I love you Dave. Please come back). Jeremiah Davenport is a pretty good shooter, and I love his energy, but he’s a nice sixth-man at best. Mika Adams-Woods has flashed at times, but I don’t know what he excels at. He feels like a complimentary combo guard off the bench on a good team. Cincinnati is relying on him to be the 3rd option.

I think Cincinnati has the right guy. They just need the right pieces. And I think the right guy will find those right pieces.

(Featured Image Photo Credit: Kareem Elgazzar, Cincinnati Enquirer)