It’s been discussed, diagrammed, and dissected ad nauseum. Why? Because Syracuse’s 2-3 zone defense has given teams south of the Mason-Dixon Line more stomachaches than a dish of Cajun crawfish.

So not surprisingly, the No. 3-seeded Syracuse men’s basketball team hopes its zone stifles No. 1 Texas at 8:37 tomorrow night in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. The winner of tomorrow’s national semifinal faces either No. 3 Marquette or No. 2 Kansas on Monday for the national championship.

On their way through the East Region, the Orangemen have held two Big 12 teams to less than 60 points. In the second round, SU topped Oklahoma State, 68-56, and last Sunday, Syracuse beat Oklahoma, 63-47.

Texas, meanwhile, earned its Final Four berth by knocking off Michigan State, 85-76, in the Elite Eight.

SU head coach Jim Boeheim, who’s seeking his first national title this weekend, noted Wednesday the irony in the 2-3 zone receiving national acclaim this week.

“We’ve played man-to-man a lot of years in a lot of situations,” Boeheim said. “For a while, no one knew we played the 2-3 zone until 1996. When we win, no one says anything. When we lose, everyone says we should have played the other one.”

Now, everyone’s just asking: Will Texas and star guard T.J. Ford wilt under the zone like Oklahoma did?

“The two ways to beat the zone are to get good shots and to rebound,” Boeheim said. “You can do both, but it’s hard to do both.”

If one team could manage, though, it might be Texas (26-6). The Longhorns shoot 45 percent, and they average 42 rebounds, one more than the Orangemen.

Texas center James Thomas, whom SU assistant coach Mike Hopkins called “the best rebounder in the country,” averages a double-double, with 11.1 points and 11.1 boards.

Syracuse has worked the glass better than in recent seasons, thanks to a pair of 6-foot-8 forwards in Hakim Warrick and Carmelo Anthony. Last Sunday, the Orangemen outboarded the Sooners, 40-28.

“With this zone, it’s the length of the players,” Texas head coach Rick Barnes said. “It’s a big zone, an athletic zone.”

The Longhorns have the means to attack it from the inside and out. Texas’ starting backcourt of Ford and Brandon Mouton combine for 29 points a game.

Though he receives much less hoopla than Ford, the Naismith National Player of the Year, Mouton can be just as dangerous. He shoots 44 percent, including 40 percent from 3-point range.

But Texas sinks or swims with Ford, who will dive to the middle of Syracuse’s zone. The Orangemen kept Oklahoma guard Hollis Price to the perimeter, forcing the Sooners to go around and over the zone. Ford, a penetrator, will charge through it.

“It’s tough to keep him out of the lane,” SU guard Gerry McNamara said. “But if we play the way we did against Oklahoma, we can stop him.”

Said SU forward Carmelo Anthony: “They like to run and gun. We’ve got to stay in front of T.J. It’s hard because he’s one of the fastest players in the country.”

To compensate for Ford’s speed, Texas’ opponents have sometimes played a man-to-man defense so loose it resembles a zone.

“The key for us is that we have a mind-set that we’re going to do what we’ve done,” Barnes said. “We’ve got the concepts that we try to apply against the zone. You’ve got to try and get some easy baskets. Just like against a man, you need to play north-south more than you go east-west.”

Unlike Oklahoma, which had 40 hours notice, Texas has five days to prepare.

“Preparation time will help for sure,” Boeheim said. “They’re better than Oklahoma offensively by a lot. Oklahoma’s strength is defense and guards. Our zone kind of negated that. Texas shoots better and rebounds better. They’re a much better team.

“I picked them to win the national championship. I hope I’m wrong for the first time in my life.”

Published on April 3, 2003 at 12:00 pm