How it Happened: Indiana dominates Penn State behind Wilkerson's big night

After back-to-back losses away from home, Indiana responded with an emphatic win at Assembly Hall, as the Hoosiers throttled Penn State 113-72.

Lamar Wilkerson was the highlight of the night for Indiana, as his 44 points set a new single-game record at Assembly Hall for most points scored by a Hoosier or a visitor.

That wasn’t the only record he broke, though, as Wilkerson’s 10 3-pointers are the most ever in a single game by a Hoosier. He allowed for a 17-of-31 mark from deep for the team, while Indiana totaled 42-of-61 from the field against Penn State.

The Nittany Lions shot just 26-of-56 from the floor and 5-of-16 from 3-point range. Kayden Mingo led PSU with 19 points, but he was obviously no match for Wilkerson’s historic performance.

The Hoosiers also played impressive defense, as everything came together to allow for the bounce-back win that moves Darian DeVries’ group to 8-2 on the season and 1-1 in Big Ten play.

Indiana has a blockbuster matchup with Kentucky on Saturday, but first, here’s how it happened on a chilly Wednesday night against Penn State.

Hoosiers get out to hot start on both ends

Indiana sleepwalked throughout the first half against Louisville on Saturday, but it was the complete opposite experience at Assembly Hall on Wednesday against Penn State. The Hoosiers got out to a blisteringly hot start on offense, while their defense played with great intensity during the vast majority of the opening 20 minutes.

IU made its first four 3-point attempts, with three of those coming from Wilkerson, but the Hoosiers didn’t stop there. They finished the first half with a 7-for-15 mark from deep, a vast improvement compared to Indiana’s last two outings.

The 3-point offense was obviously the focal point, but Indiana ran the floor extremely well, and it was able to find easy buckets near the basket throughout the first half. Of the Hoosiers’ 58 points at the half, 52 of those came from either beyond the arc, in the paint or the free-throw line.

Indiana was running a balanced offense that led to a 58-26 lead after 20 minutes, but just as critical to the halftime advantage was the way the Hoosiers’ defense played against the Nittany Lions.

Penn State was held to just 33% shooting from the field, and an even worse 25% from 3, as the Lions had more turnovers (11) than made field goals (9) in the first half.

All in all, the first half against Penn State might’ve been the most complete half of basketball we’ve seen Indiana play all season long.

Wilkerson has historic performance

A major key in Indiana’s first-half success was Wilkerson’s shot-making ability, and it more than continued in the second half, as the guard ended up having a historic night against Penn State.

He totaled 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the first half and went an impressive 4-of-6 from deep before the break. He was the prime reason that the Hoosiers’ offense was able to operate so well, as he jump-started the barrage from beyond the arc and kept it going throughout the opening half.

He went back to work in the second, going 8-of-11 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range, as even though the Hoosiers were up big, Wilkerson ended up shooting — and making — big shots.

Another impressive half gave Wilkerson 44 points in the ballgame, as he received a standing ovation when he exited the floor with just under five minutes left. This ended a night where Wilkerson scored the most points by any player in Assembly Hall history, dating back to the 1971 season.

Wilkerson broke the record for most 3-pointers in a single game in Indiana basketball history, while his 44 points were the most since Trayce Jackson-Davis’ 43 back in 2022.

In an incredible all-around performance by Indiana, Wilkerson shined as the most effective scorer by far. His showing will forever be remembered in the history books, and I’m sure IU fans will remember it for a long, long time.

Defense impresses throughout

It may have gotten lost in the shuffle due to how well Wilkerson and the Indiana offense were playing, but the Hoosier defense was seriously impressive during the majority of the contest against Penn State.

The Nittany Lions were able to score 72 points, but a lot of those were scored when the game was already decided, as Indiana played a very solid defensive game.

Its first-half performance was great, holding the Lions to just nine field goals, while early in the second half saw the same amount of high energy that this Indiana team prides itself on when it’s on defense.

When it was all said and done, Indiana forced 14 Penn State turnovers, while it forced the Nittany Lions to shoot under 50% from the field and less than 33% from 3-point range. In a Big Ten game, you’ll always take that, and the all-around performance that included the defense led to the first conference win of the DeVries era.

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