Louisville Men's Basketball Postgame Notes

Louisville 84, Middle Tennessee 68
NIT Second Round
March 18, 2018
KFC Yum! Center | Louisville, Ky.
Attendance: 13,050

TEAM RECORDS & SERIES NOTES

Louisville defeated Middle Tennessee 84-68 in the second round of the NIT, pushing the Cardinals to 22-13 this season.
Louisville holds a 3-0 advantage in the series.
- It was the second meeting between the two programs in the postseason, with the Cardinals beating the Blue Raiders in the 1982 NCAA Mideast Regional second.
The Cardinals, in their 15th NIT appearance in school history, moved to 16-14 in the postseason event.
- Louisville is 4-6 in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.
Louisville is advancing to the NIT quarterfinals for the seventh time in school history, most recently in 2006.
No. 2-seed Louisville faces No. 4-seed Mississippi State in the NIT quarterfinals on Tuesday at 9 p.m. after the Bulldogs defeated Baylor in the KFC Yum! Center.

TEAM NOTES

Interim head coach David Padgett captured his 22nd win, passing former Louisville head coach John Dromo (21, 1967-68) for the second-most wins by a first-year coach in program history.
Louisville has won 52 its last 71 postseason tournament games over the last 15 years.
- The Cardinals are 29-7 in the postseason over the last nine years.
Louisville's 16-point victory is tied for the fourth-largest win in the NIT in school history.
- The Cardinals defeated Georgetown by 63 (92-29) in 1953, Missouri State by 18 (74-56) in 2006, Delaware State by 17 (71-54) in 2006, and Clemson by 16 (74-58) in 2006.
The Cardinals connected on 11 3-pointers, tallying at least seven treys in 17 of its last 28 games.
- Louisville is 16-3 when it makes eight or more 3-pointers in a game this season.
- It's the Cardinals' most 3-pointers since hitting 12 at Virginia Tech on Feb. 24.
- The 11 treys are the most by the Cardinals in the postseason since connecting on 13 against Marquette in the BIG EAST Tournament on March 10, 2011.
- Louisville's 52.4 percent clip from 3 is its best mark since hitting 62.5 percent of its 3-pointers against Florida State in the ACC Tournament.
Louisville scored 26 second-quarter points, the most in any of its eight quarters in the National Invitation Tournament.
Louisville shot 53.7 percent from the floor in the game, its best postseason shooting performance since connecting on 56.4 percent against Colorado State in the third round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament on March 23.
Louisville turned over the ball only seven times in the game, its fewest since losing the ball seven times against Wake Forest on Jan. 27.
The Cardinals' defense forced 15 Middle Tennessee turnovers, converting those opportunities into 22 points, the second most this season. Louisville scored 28 points off turnovers against Wake Forest on Jan. 27.
- The Cardinals have scored at least 20 points off turnovers seven times this season.
Louisville connected on 15-of-20 free throws in the victory, its 16th time this season knocking down at least 15 free throws in a game.
Louisville's bench contributed 42 points, matching its second-highest output this year (42 vs. Wake Forest, Jan. 27). The group registered 49 points against Southern Illinois on Nov. 21.
The Cardinals dished out 17 assists on 29 made baskets, helping at a 58.6 percent rate.
- Louisville has been credited with at least 15 assists four times this season.

PLAYER NOTES

Anas Mahmoud swatted two shots, moving him to second on the school's single-season list with 103.
- The senior sits third on the school's career chart with 217 blocks.
- Mahmoud is seventh among the NCAA Division I active career leaders.
Ryan McMahon matched a career high with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
- It is only the second time this season he has scored in double figures in consecutive games, both this season (11 vs. Florida State, Jan. 10; 10 vs. Virginia Tech, Jan. 13).
- He hit four 3-pointers in the win, one shy of his career high. He is 6 of 10 in the NIT Championship.
Ray Spalding paced the Cardinals with 18 points, leading the team in scoring for the ninth time this season.
- Spalding reached 800 career points with his Sunday performance.
- Spalding has scored in double figures 12 times in the last 14 games.
- He hit 8-of-11 shots, the 10th game this season with at least eight made field goals.
Jordan Nwora nearly matched a season best with 17 points in 21 minutes off the bench. He was 5 of 10 from the floor, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc.
Quentin Snider scored seven points and dished out eight assists.
- Snider climbed to 41st on Louisville's all-time scoring list with 1,201 points.
- The senior boasts 414 career assists, five of shy of cracking the program's top-10 list.
V.J. King reached double figures for the 14th time this season, pouring in 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
Darius Perry came off the bench and scored eight points for the second-consecutive game.

University of Louisville Athletics

Players Mentioned

V.J. King

Anas Mahmoud

Ryan McMahon

Jordan Nwora

Darius Perry

Quentin Snider

Ray Spalding

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