I'm surprised more posters aren't here talking about the nice job Miles has done the last two games. The 1-3-1 has worked well. He has used Taylor smartly. Taylor is a liability on O but I have noticed that since Miles inserted him in the lineup Webster and Watson are managing to stay out of foul trouble. Takes the pressure off Taylor on O by having the other 2 out there with him. Takes some of the d pressure off WW. Nice last week for Miles.
Thanks jtf! This might be a good entree to talk a little about the 1-3-1 (that I know nothing about).
From what little I've been able to find, it seems Miles and his staff first started discussing it when Gill went down with his season-ending injury, thinking without Gill they had lost some quickness on defense and what could they do about it (zone). But Miles stated he didn't believe our roster would fit all that well into a 2-3 zone and he and his staff thought the 1-3-1 would be a better fit.
As I understand it, it was Coach Lewis who suggested Miles contact Xavier (in his post-game I think Miles specifically gave credit to Coach Chris Mack at Xavier for his 1-3-1 nuances). I believe the Huskers first practiced the concept Dec 26th, implementing shortly thereafter and used briefly in the Indiana game, (resulting in giving up a bucket).
Here's a screen-shot during the Maryland game. Tai is at the Point and Morrow under the basket.
Many like to trap out of 1-3-1, but it seems like we were trying more to disrupt passes, getting into their passing lanes. Whatever; Maryland was not prepared for it and it seemed to confuse them, making them hesitate, disrupting their timing and offensive flow while helping our rebounding.
For anyone who would like to delve a little deeper, here is a little bit about Xavier's version of the 1-3-1.
http://rushthecourt.net/2016/02/22/the-x-factor-breaking-down-xaviers-1-3-1-zone/
Now that opponents have seen us use it, we probably won't see a lot of it but it may be interesting to have to throw in once in a while.