SYRACUSE - If defense wins championships, then Jonny Flynn is going directly to the source.

“I'm going to have to go watch some tapes from the 2003 team and see how they played zone,” the Syracuse freshman said after the Orange suffered a 107-100 loss to Massachusetts Wednesday night at the Carrier Dome.

Carmelo Anthony and Hakim Warrick weren't exactly heralded for their defense, but when the 2003 national championship team needed a defensive stop, they get one.

That's not quite the case for the 2007 Orange, who are allowing their opponents to score 82 points per game.

“Man-to-man or zone, we just can't defend people,” Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. “We couldn't defend St. (Joseph's), we couldn't defend Ohio State and we couldn't defend UMass.”

The Minutemen trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half but patiently chipped away at the lead. UMass reserve forward Dante Milligan scored 11 second-half points, all of which came on easy looks in the paint.

Leading scorer Gary Forbes slashed his way to the rim practically at will, and delivered the game's biggest shot - a deep 3 to put the Minutemen up by six with 1:11 to play.

There wasn't just one area of defensive deficiency for the Orange. From the outside, UMass barraged Syracuse with 14 3-pointers. On the inside, they scored 40 points in the paint and had 24 second-chance points.

“I think it's just effort,” Flynn said. “Coach Boeheim and the coaching staff do a great job teaching us the zone and the man-to-man, but the players have to want to go out there and stop people.”

But Boeheim isn't optimistic that things will change overnight.

“We can't stop anybody,” Boeheim said. “It's been that way for six weeks, nothing's changed.”

Syracuse, a team that's known for playing the 2-3 zone, has played more man-to-man than usual this season, as Boeheim's trying to take advantage of his squad's athleticism.

But the hall-of-fame coach hasn't gotten comfortable with either set. The Orange switched defenses throughout a 79-65 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 21. One week later against UMass, Syracuse switched from man to zone four times in just the first half.

No matter what was thrown their way, the Minuteman sliced and diced the Orange defense from all angles.

“I think it got to a point (in the second half) when both teams knew they couldn't stop the other,” UMass head coach Travis Ford said. “We were just able to make a few more big plays in crunch time.”

Syracuse wasted a number of big-time offensive performances, including a career-high 20 points from Arinze Onuaku and a double-double from Flynn (20 points, 12 assists).

But the Orange have posted numbers similar to these all season.

There's no question they can score - Syracuse puts up nearly 85 points per game. The Orange just can't defend.

And if they haven't learned that yet, maybe some old footage of the 2003 Orangemen will teach them some lessons.

“We could come back tomorrow and be one of the best defensive teams around,” Flynn said. “But until that happens, we won't be a good team. We'll just be a mediocre team with a lot of hype.”