IU basketball non-conference review: Lamar Wilkerson

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

IU basketball has completed the non-conference portion of the schedule and the Hoosiers are 10-3.

Ahead of the restart of Big Ten play against Washington on January 4, we’re taking a player-by-player look at each rotation player on the roster’s performance thus far this season.

Up next: Lamar Wilkerson

Previously: Tayton Conerway

Wilkerson’s numbers through 13 games

IU’s leading scorer through 13 games, the 6-foot-6 Wilkerson is averaging 19 points in 30.4 minutes per game for the Hoosiers.

Wilkerson is shooting 46.6 percent from the floor, including 42.9 percent on 3-pointers. He’s also connecting at an 83.7 percent clip from the free-throw line. Inside the 3-point arc, he’s connecting on 52.1 percent of his shots, up from 50 percent last season at Sam Houston State.

The Ashdown, Arkansas, native is also averaging three rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio is better than 2-to-1.

What’s gone right for Wilkerson

An elite 3-point shooter, Wilkerson set an IU record for 3-pointers made in a game with 10 against Penn State on December 3. He finished with 44 points in that win, an Assembly Hall scoring record.

With 18 regular-season games to go, Wilkerson is averaging 3.46 made 3-pointers per game, which is slightly ahead of the 3.4 he made per game last season at Sam Houston State.

Whether his scoring will fully translate when the meat of the Big Ten schedule arrives is still to be determined, but Wilkerson has scored in double figures in 12 of IU’s 13 games and already has five games with 21 or more points.

Defensively, he has 20 steals and has seven games with two or more steals. He’s also shown himself to be a solid facilitator at times, racking up four or more assists in five games and dishing out eight in IU’s 100-77 win against Marquette in Chicago on November 9.

Areas of concern for Wilkerson

Fouls have been an issue in some games for Wilkerson, who has yet to foul out but has finished three games with four fouls.

In IU’s 72-60 loss at Kentucky on December 13, he played only 22 minutes due to foul trouble.

Wilkerson’s perimeter shooting has also gone cold at times. In IU’s three losses, he shot a combined 6-for-20 from distance.

He also had performances of 0-for-3 on 3s against Incarnate Word, 1-for-7 against Lindenwood and 1-for-8 against Bethune Cookman.

Outlook for the rest of the 2025-26 season

The transition from Conference USA to the Big Ten has gone smoothly for Wilkerson, who has been IU’s most consistent offensive player this season.

He can single-handedly carry IU offensively at times and is proving himself to be one of the best shooters to wear the uniform this century.

As the level of competition ramps up as Big Ten play begins in earnest next month, Indiana will need to continue to free Wilkerson up as much as possible for clean perimeter looks.

Opposing high-major defenses – Louisville was a prime example – have already shown the ability to meet him with physicality on the perimeter and make it tough for him to get free for shots. And when IU’s offense has been rudderless at times, it’s usually coincided with a cold shooting night from Wilkerson. The Hoosiers, a perimeter-oriented offensive team, can’t afford those kinds of games very often.

Shot chart for Wilkerson through 13 games

Shot chart via our friends at UMHoops.com

Lamar Wilkerson shot chart.

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