Wilkerson Leads Hoosiers Past PSU

Written by: TJ Inman

After beginning the season 7-0, the Indiana Hoosiers entered Tuesday night’s Big Ten home opener against the Penn State Nittany Lions as losers of two straight games and in desperate need of a positive performance. Led by a scorching performance from Lamar Wilkerson, Darian DeVries’ squad got exactly what they needed as they rolled to a 113-72 victory to improve to 8-2 (1-1). The young Penn State Nittany Lions grabbed the game’s first basket as Kayden Mingo scored down low but senior guard Lamar Wilkerson hit his first three three-point attempts to build Indiana’s lead and the Hoosiers never really looked back.

Wilkerson remained hot from beyond the arc while mixing in some driving two-point baskets on his way to 20 first-half points and he was joined in double-figures by Tayton Conerway and Reed Bailey as the Hoosiers went on a prolonged 30-4 run and led 58-26 at the break. It was the most first half points for IU in any game since at least 2009 but it was not just the offense worth highlighting. Penn State came into the game averaging just over eight turnovers per game but Indiana forced them into 11 in the first half and turned those into 20 points while racking up 16 assists on 68% shooting.

Indiana did not let off the gas as the second half began, extending the lead from 32 points to 49 as Wilkerson shredded the Nittany Lions, tying the IU single-game record for three-pointers with nine before taking an extended break with more than 12 minutes remaining in the game. Penn State’s offense finally found a bit of rhythm but Indiana continued to cruise as Wilkerson re-entered the game after a rest and he grabbed the all-time Indiana record with his tenth made three-pointer to give IU 100 points with more than five minutes still remaining. He connected on his only two free throw attempts and left to a standing ovation with 44 points in less than 24 minutes of action, exiting with a new Assembly Hall single-game scoring record. Wilkerson was 16-22 from the field and he added four rebounds, four assists and a couple of steals to cap off his remarkable performance.

Indiana coasted to the finish line, getting extended minutes for freshman Aleksa Ristic and a few walk-ons as they finished off the 41-point win. IU was dominant across the board in their Big Ten home opener, forcing 14 turnovers, shooting 69 percent from the field and making a season-high 17 three-pointers. Wilkerson was not the only IU player that had a strong night. Reed Bailey had 18 points on a perfect 6-6 shooting, Tayton Conerway added 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting and Nick Dorn had 13 points. Freshman Trent Sisley led the team with eight rebounds in only 22 minutes of game time.

The Hoosiers now hit the road for the much-anticipated matchup this Saturday night against the Kentucky Wildcats in Rupp Arena.