COLUMBIA, South Carolina (Ticker) -- Jamel Bradley scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half as South Carolina took a 36-point halftime lead and coasted to an 82-47 win over Ball State, earning a trip to the National Invitational Tournament semifinals.

Bradley nearly outscored the Cardinals singlehandedly in the first 20 minutes as the Gamecocks raced out to a 48-12 halftime advantage.

Chuck Eidson netted 15 points and Carlos Powell added 15 in 20 minutes for South Carolina (21-14), which faces Syracuse on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

Theron Smith scored 14 points and Patrick Jackson chipped in with 13 for Ball State (23-12), which shot just 15.5 percent (5-of-2)7 in the opening half.

South Carolina scored the game's first seven points before Ball State's first field goal three minutes in. The Cardinals did not score again until Lonnie Jones' layup with 13:15 to play cut the deficit to 14-4.

The Gamecocks promptly went on another run, reeling off nine straight points for a 23-4 advantage with 10:35 to go. They had time for two more 10-0 bursts in the half.

The Cardinals were unable to pull closer than 30 points in the second half and suffered their biggest defeat of the season and were held to a season low in points.

Tony Kitchings had 12 points and eight rebounds and Marius Petravicius added 10 points as the Gamecocks shot 50 percent (30-of-60) from the field and hit 17-of-18 free throws.

Ball State shot 30 percent (16-of-54) from the field, including 3-of-20 from 3-point range. The Cardinals were outrebounded, 41-30, and committed 15 of their 22 turnovers in the first half.