Lamar Wilkerson had another big night of offense, scoring 41 points to lead Indiana to a 92-74 win over Oregon in Big Ten men’s basketball Monday night at Bloomington, Indiana.
Wilkerson scored 25 points in the second half, making 8 of his 10 shots, and the Hoosiers hardly missed in the final 20 minutes. They made 18 of 22 shots and exploded for 56 points after a close first half.
The only four shots Indiana (17-8, 8-6 in Big Ten) missed in the second half were 3-point attempts.
Up by six at halftime, Indiana scored 14 points in less than four minutes to take control of the game. Wilkerson, Sam Alexis and Tucker Devries keyed the run as the Hoosiers went ahead 50-36 at the 16:13 mark.
Wilkerson had already scored 16 points in the first half, and was just getting started in the second. He exited the game with 1:57 to play to a roar from the crowd.
Alexis added 16 points and Devries 15 for the game. The Hoosiers made 30 of 50 shots in total.
The reeling Ducks absorbed their 10th straight loss. Oregon (8-16, 1-12) got 15 points from Nate Bittle, who made only 3 of 14 shots, and 15 from reserve guard Wei Lin.
Indiana has won five of its last six games. The Hoosiers trailed as much as five, 19-14 with less eight minutes left in the first half, but erased that deficit quickly.
Wilkerson continues to make a case for Big Ten Player of the Year. He scored his team’s final 10 points in an overtime win over Wisconsin last weekend, and entered the game averaging better than 23 points a game in conference play.
That number went up after his outburst on Monday. Wilkerson scored from all over the half-court and made 9 of 11 free throws.
Wilkerson, who previously played in college at Sam Houston State, added five rebounds and three assists while playing 35 minutes.
