Louisville eases by Middle Tennessee in NIT's 2nd round

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Gaudio: Louisville's offense was 'outstanding'

Dino Gaudio and Anish Shroff break down Louisville's performance against Middle Tennessee and the performance of Ray Spalding.

Mar 19, 2018, 01:10 am

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- 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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