The Minute After: Penn State

Photos from IU basketball’s 113-72 win against Penn State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Thoughts on a 113-72 win against the Nittany Lions:

There are bounce-back wins. And then there was this.

Indiana absolutely annihilated Penn State tonight, as the Hoosiers returned to form — and then some — on offense. The ball moved. The cutting was crisp and purposeful. Indiana scored from deep and in the paint. Things got rolling downhill early and IU never looked back.

Lamar Wilkerson was a big reason why. After he scored nine straight for the Hoosiers midway through the first half, Wilkerson had 20 points to Penn State’s 14 as he exited at the 8:34 mark for a breather.

But that was only the start. As the second half wore on and Wilkerson stayed hot, it became clear the Sam Houston State transfer was heading into rare air and he eventually broke two records. The first? Rod Wilmont, Robert Johnson and Matt Roth have all made nine 3-pointers in a game, a three-way tie for the most 3s made in a game by a Hoosier. But Wilkerson splashed home 10 tonight. He now holds Indiana’s single-game record for most made 3s.

And after Wilkerson made two free throws and was subbed out for the night at the 4:58 mark in the second half, he’d dropped in 44 points total. That’s a record for any player in Assembly Hall, beating the previous best of 43 points set by Trayce Jackson-Davis in 2021 against Marshall.

Perhaps equally as impressive as those two records? He only played 24 minutes. Wilkerson hit 10-of-15 from deep, 2-of-2 from the line and 16-of-22 from the field overall. It was a sensational performance.

“Hoop looked big as the ocean,” Wilkerson said after the game.

Indiana’s offense also put up some wild numbers. The Hoosiers made 17-of-31 (54.8 percent) from 3-point range, a season-high in makes and their most in a game since 2016. They assisted on 30 of their 42 made baskets, a season-high mark for assists. Another season high? Indiana’s 1.54 points per possession.

IU’s 113 points tonight are also the most it has scored in a Big Ten game since Feb. 17, 1990, when the Hoosiers beat Iowa, 118-71.

Beyond Wilkerson, Reed Bailey came off the bench for the first time this season and had a strong outing. Bailey finished well tonight, making all six of his field goal attempts and adding a 6-of-6 mark from the line for 18 points. Tayton Conerway got some nice scores on drives to the basket, made both of his 3-pointers and wasn’t far behind with 17 points. Nick Dorn continues to shoot it well from deep (2-of-4), but also had two nice drives off the perimeter for scores in the second half and finished with 13 points.

Penn State entered the game with the second-lowest turnover percentage in the country (12.1), but the Hoosiers had no problem turning the Nittany Lions over in the first half. They turned it over on 34 percent of their first-half possessions, which led to 20 points off turnovers for Indiana. This young Penn State team struggled in its first Big Ten road game.

This is now Indiana’s fourth time in 10 games that it’s scored 100 or more points. The Hoosiers have certainly shown that at home against lesser opponents, their offense can get comfortable and be tough to stop.

But so far, that hasn’t translated on the road or against tougher competition.

Can Saturday’s game in Lexington against the Wildcats change that reality?

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