Indiana men’s basketball played two games over five days: a blowout win over Penn State and a loss to the University of Kentucky thanks to a second-half collapse.
Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson averaged 29.5 points across the two games, earning him Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday, per the conference’s release. Wilkerson shares the award with Nebraska junior forward Pryce Sandfort.
Wilkerson joins redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries as the only two Hoosiers to earn the distinction this season, as the latter did so Nov. 10.
Wilkerson turned in a historic performance against the Nittany Lions on Dec. 11. He poured in a Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall record 44 points, as he drained 10 3-pointers — an Indiana single-game record.
The Sam Houston State University transfer also added four steals, four assists and three steals in just 24 minutes. He became the first Division I or NBA player across the last 30 seasons to score at least 40 points and 10 3-pointers in less than 25 minutes, according to OptaSTATS.
Wilkerson’s 44 points were the most by a Hoosier against a Big Ten opponent since former guard Mike Woodson notched 48 points in 1979. Wilkerson is the first Big Ten player to score at least 44 since former Iowa center Luka Garza had a 48-point performance in 2019.
Wilkerson is shooting 46.7% from the field and 43% from 3-point range this season with a team-high 18.5 points per contest.
Indiana (8-3, 1-1 Big Ten) returns to the hardwood against Chicago State University at 1 p.m. Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
