WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-The performance was so lifeless that by late in the second half the neutral fans at Lawrence Joel Coliseum paid more attention to the JumboTron scoreboard – raucously cheering for Duke to lose its first-round game – than to the action on the court.

The performance was so uninspired that the game between top-seeded North Carolina and 16th-seeded Eastern Kentucky was more competitive. At least the Colonels, from the Ohio Valley Conference, gave the Tar Heels a scare by turning a 39-12 deficit into a 48-44 margin early in the second half.

The performance was so inept that the box score couldn't believe its own statistics: almost 10 minutes without a point to start the game, a first half without a two-point basket (and a whopping five two-point field goals for the game), no player who shot 50 percent or better.

It was a nightmare for eighth-seeded Marquette, which without its second-leading scorer in Jerel McNeal bowed out of the NCAA tournament in the first round for the second straight year Thursday in a 61-49 loss to ninth-seeded Michigan State.

"We wanted to advance further than we did last year," said sophomore guard Dominic James, who scored a game-high 18 points. "We had an unfortunate injury in Jerel McNeal, and we really missed him. With him out there really would have made a difference, but I still thought we had the personnel to get it done."

The absence of McNeal, who sat out Marquette's last four games of the season with an injured thumb, was most evident on the offensive end, where the Spartans closed the driving lanes and made the Golden Eagles shoot from the perimeter.

This defensive strategy frustrated Marquette, which didn't score a point until freshman David Cubillan's three-pointer at the 10:20 mark of the first half. By that point the Spartans led 14-0, and the Golden Eagles never got closer than five points the rest of the game.

"We fell short again," said sophomore guard Wesley Matthews. "We didn't come out in the first half like we should have. . It did hurt to lose Jerel, but at the same time, we were ready. We were prepared. We just didn't execute."

About the only thing Marquette did right was contain the offensive production of Michigan State star Drew Neitzel, who had just 12 points (six under his season average) on 4-of-11 shooting. Neitzel's teammates, however, had no trouble finding ways to contribute. Raymar Morgan and Marquise Gray combined for 26 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and Michigan State shot 53.7 percent for the game.

In the post-game press conference, Marquette head coach Tom Crean continuously attributed his team's defensive struggles to poor communication.

"If our big guys are not leading the way with our pick-and-roll calls . we got beat on our own plays a couple of times tonight," Crean said. "We just didn't talk up front.

"They executed their game plan defensively; we didn't execute ours."

The Golden Eagles' lack of creativity on offense made it easier for Michigan State to defend them. The rare times James penetrated the lane and dished the ball to open teammates, they missed layups. When Matthews tried to drive to the basket, the Spartan defense quickly collapsed and forced him into an uncharacteristic six turnovers.

So Marquette's grand scheme for finding offense was limited to launching three-pointers, which, of course, was the Spartan plan all along.

"We wanted to force them to take outside shots," Neitzel said.

Added Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo: "I felt that our game plan was the only way we could play them, and we hoped they couldn't make too many threes."

The Golden Eagles went 10-of-29 from beyond the arc and made just five baskets inside the arc. Marquette's 49 points were a season low in a season that had promised so much but yielded so little when the games really mattered.

Just happy to be there?

The men's basketball team has advanced past the first round of the NCAA tournament just once in Tom Crean's eight years at the helm.

2002 – Lost in first round to No. 12 seed Tulsa

2003 – Advanced to Final Four

2006 – Lost in first round to No. 10 seed Alabama

2007 – Lost in first round to No. 9 seed Michigan State