That’s zone defense 2-3 style.

“I think they do it better than anybody,” Kansas basketball coach Roy Williams said of the preferred defense of Orangeman coach Jim Boeheim, who has ridden that basic, yet extraordinarily effective ‘D’ to an even 600 wins in 25 years at the Big East school.

Williams knows all about the Orange’s zone defense, which will test the Jayhawks (25-6) during today’s second-round NCAA Midwest Regional contest. Tip is 11:10 a.m., Lawrence time, at University of Dayton Arena.

Syracuse (25-8) and its zone defense held KU to 4-of 25 three-point shooting in a 60-57 Elite Eight victory over the Jayhawks on March 24, 1996 in Denver.

Earl Richardson/Journal-World Photo

The Orange advanced to the Final Four, where they beat Mississippi State and lost to Kentucky in the national title game. KU’s Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, Scot Pollard, Jacque Vaughn and Jerod Haase went home, where they lamented missing out on a Final Four experience.

It wasn’t all because of Syracuse’s zone defense John Wallace and Otis Hill each scored 15 but the Orange ‘D’ was a major factor, to say the least.

“It’s the best 2-3 defense I’ve ever seen,” KU senior center Eric Chenowith said of an Orange defense, which has held foes to 66.9 points a game on 40.5 percent shooting.

It’s dandy because it’s an active zone defense led by guards Allen Griffin and DeShaun Williams, plus forwards Preston Shumpert (19.5 ppg) and Damone Brown (16.8 ppg), who also aren’t bad on the offensive end.

“They don’t sit in the zone to buy 35 seconds on the shot clock,” said KU junior guard Jeff Boschee, who hit four threes in KU’s 99-75 first-round win over Cal State Northridge and may launch more than that against Syracuse’s zone.

“They try to force turnovers and take the ball from you. Shumpert is so athletic … he’s 6-8 but has the wingspan of a 7-footer. It does help if Kirk (Hinrich) and I come out and knock a couple down. But the first thing we have to do is be able to attack inside, get it down low. The zone gets stronger when you pass the ball around the perimeter,” Boschee added.

Williams has a specific plan on how to attack a 2-3 zone.

“Get the ball in the middle of the court area,” Williams said. “If we don’t do that. … If they keep us on the perimeter, we’re not going to win the game. That’s just the bottom line.”

Kansas desperately wants to win the game and advance to next Friday’s Round of 16 battle against Illinois or UNC Charlotte in San Antonio.

To do so, KU needs to go to Nick Collison, Drew Gooden, Eric Chenowith and Kenny Gregory for some inside buckets.

Lots of inside buckets.

“I can’t just say we have to make outside shots,” Williams said. “You are not going to get open shots. They are so athletic and so long you think you have open shots and they close the gap so quickly, you do not.

“If you don’t get it inside, they’ll keep spreading and spreading and spreading. We need to try to get a good mix of getting the ball inside and being able to make some outside shots as well.”

The Jayhawks will pound it inside today, they insisted after a short Saturday practice at Dayton Arena.

“We’re going to try to get the ball inside against their zone. We’ll try to pick up the tempo and maybe get some easy ones,” Hinrich said. “We will try to attack the gaps in the zone and get the ball inside like we have all year.”

“You’ve got to be able to ‘face and go,’ try to get the ball in the middle,” noted Collison, a sophomore forward who had 23 points on Friday night against Cal State Northridge. “If you pass it outside, it’s exactly what they want you to do. You’ve got to either penetrate the middle or get the ball in the middle with a pass.

“Facing a man-to-man if it’s totally straight up is easier. The question is whether we can move the ball and break it down. a little bit,” Collison added.

KU has spent a good deal of time discussing Syracuse’s zone. And not just to the media. They’ve also talked amongst themselves.

“A lot. Since it’s the only defense they run, you’ve got to talk about it,” said KU junior forward Jeff Carey. “You’ve got to use your height advantage inside work inside out. Whether you pass inside or dribble inside, you’ve got to attack inside, work out and hit some shots. If we pass the ball outside and never penetrate, we’re going to have a rough night.”

Neil Dougherty was the KU assistant coach assigned to scouting Syracuse.

“I think what coach Dougherty said is a pretty good summary,” Carey said. “He said every pass on the perimeter of a zone makes the zone stronger. Every pass in the middle of a zone makes it weaker.”

However sometimes it’s not easy to hit the big man inside.

“They really pack it in,” said Chenowith. “It’s tough to score against them inside. Outside they get out to the shooters quickly. I don’t see any weakness.”