Hoosiers Roll Behind 41 Points from Wilkerson

Monday, February 9

Bloomington, Ind.

8:30 PM

Indiana University

17-8,8-6Big Ten

Oregon

8-16,1-12Big Ten

Oregon

Indiana

2/9/2026 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Lamar Wilkerson was on the hunt -- 3-pointers, layups, mid-range shots, free throws, shot-clock-hitting-zero turnaround jumpers, even some things, coach Darian DeVries joked, he hadn't seen before -- and it was all good. When Indiana's veteran guard gets on a roll like this, you find him early and often.

The Hoosiers did, and Wilkerson didn't disappoint. Not on Monday night at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Not against an Oregon team tied with Penn State for last place in the Big Ten.

Wilkerson's 41 points extended a blistering six-game stretch in which he's totaled 169 points and if it included rare free throw misses -- his first two in 25 attempts -- no one wearing the Cream 'n Crimson complained. Not after the 92-74 victory that gave IU (17-8 overall, 8-6 in the Big Ten) five victories in its last six games that bodes well for a special March.

"When he gets going like that," forward Tucker DeVries said, "it makes things easy for everyone. At that point, it's get out of the way and let him cook. He does that well. He makes tough shots. It takes a special player to do that."

Wilkerson scored 10 straight points as part of a 16-point, first-half warmup before his 25-point second-half surge, a scoring barrage fitting for a guy who just won his second co-Big Ten player-of-the-week award after averaging 29.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists as IU split games against USC and Wisconsin.

"It's just taking the shots that are open and they just kept going in," Wilkerson said. "It was my teammates finding me; coaches drawing up plays. All that contributes to what went on tonight."

It was more than that, coach Darian DeVries said.

"As he's gotten more comfortable with what we're doing, we've challenged him to do more things, including defensively, and he's accepted it. Now you're seeing the full package of what he's able to do. That was as impressive second half perform as I've seen. "

Not bad for a guy who opened the game 0-for-5 from the field.

"There was nothing going in my head," Wilkerson said about the slow start. "You make shots. You miss shots. We try to live on that next-play mentality. One fell and the rest happened."

Wilkerson wasn't a one-man team. Forward Sam Alexis continued his own strong recent play with 16 points and five rebounds. Tucker DeVries added 15 points and seven assists. Nick Dorn totaled 11 points.

The Hoosiers shot 60 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range and 78 percent from the line. They had 22 assists against nine turnovers.

Oregon (8-16, 1-12) had no answers.

"Basketball is a game of runs," Wilkerson said, "and I feel like it's our run right now. You'd rather be playing your best basketball in March than January."

It's a dramatic turnaround from a team that lost four straight January games.

We got a lot of things that we got to go back to the drawing board and fix," Wilkerson said, "but that just opened our eyes and let us know that, hey, we've got to be a lot better to play in this league, get to March Madness and punch that ticket."

Besides the victory, IU's 32-0 1976 national championship team was celebrated at halftime as part of a 50th anniversary that also included the announcement that a bronze statue of Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight would be permanently installed at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

"Recognizing the 1976 team was great," Darian DeVries said. "It was a special night. To see so many able to make it back made it a pretty cool event."

As for Knight being honored with a statue, Darian DeVries added, "It's something that is well deserved."

The game was a reunion for Darian DeVries and Oregon coach Dana Altman, who gave DeVries his first coaching opportunity at Creighton a quarter century ago.

"I have so much love and affection for Coach Altman," Darian DeVries said. "He's been so good to me and family. He gave me the start in this profession. It was special to share that sideline moment with him."

Oregon had pushed Purdue to the limit in Mackey Arena two days earlier and opened at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall with a 6-0 lead. An Alexis hook shot and then a dunk produced IU's first points after a 0-for-4 shooting start. Tucker DeVries tied it at 6-6 with a pair of free throws, then delivered a 9-8 Hoosier lead with a 3-pointer.

A Conor Enright three-pointer off a Tucker DeVries assist boosted IU ahead 14-12 with 11:13 left in the half. Oregon responded with seven straight points. Wilkerson countered with a 3-pointer off an Alexis assist and a 19-17 Ducks lead. Wilkerson followed with two free throws, a layup and then another 3-pointer, plus grabbed a rebound that turned into a Tucker DeVries basket and a 26-22 Hoosier lead.

Another Wilkerson basket and then two more free throws produced a 36-30 halftime lead. He had 16 points.

IU scored the first four points of the second half to take a 10-point lead. Three-pointers from Wilkerson and Tucker DeVries soon followed. The lead swelled to 16 at 52-36 with 15 minutes remaining and to 20 with six minutes left.

The Ducks were finished.

Now comes a brutal road swing -- No. 8/7 Illinois (20-4, 11-2) on Sunday and No. 13/12 Purdue (19-4,, 9-3) on Feb. 20.

"It's great for us to have a day or two to get our feet back under us, get refocused and get ready for a big road game on Sunday," Darian DeVries said.