Louisville eases by Middle Tennessee in NIT's 2nd round (Mar 18, 2018)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) Ray Spalding scored 18 points, Jordan Nwora added 17 and Louisville cruised into the NIT quarterfinals with an 84-68 victory over Middle Tennessee on Sunday.

Ryan McMahon chipped in with 15 points and V.J. King 13 for Louisville (22-13), which will face Mississippi State (24-11) on Tuesday night. Nwora and McMahon each made four of the Cardinals' 11 3-pointers.

Deng Adel, Louisville's leading scorer at 15.6 points, was scoreless in 21 minutes - with just one shot attempt - to remain 13 points shy of becoming the 69th 1,000-point scorer in program history.

McMahon and Spalding combined to score 23 of Louisville's 41 first-half points. The Cardinals shot 55 percent from the field in the half with 7-of-13 shooting from distance.

Conference USA player of the year Nick King scored 24 points and Brandon Walters added 16 for Middle Tennessee (25-8). Giddy Potts, who scored 25 points in the opening round, and Antwain Johnson each scored 10.

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