Looking Back At Indiana's 5 Highest-Scoring Individual Games At Assembly Hall

Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall has seen many national champions, Hall of Fame players and All-Americans since its debut 1971-72 season. But it hadn't seen an individual scoring effort quite like Lamar Wilkerson's until Tuesday night.

As the Hoosiers defeated Penn State 113-72, Wilkerson set an Assembly Hall scoring record with 44 points, and his 10 3-pointers set a program record at any venue.

"Like I said a few times, he's had a couple nights where he's struggled. I was never worried about that. He's that level of a shooter," Indiana coach Darian DeVries said. "He's not going to do 44 every night. He has that confidence. He puts in the work every day. It was fun to see him kind of get loose and kind of showcase all that work he puts in."

So, who did Wilkerson pass? Here's a look at the Hoosiers' five highest-scoring games in Assembly Hall history.

Lamar Wilkerson

What made Wilkerson's night even more impressive was that he played just 24 minutes. He also had efficient 16-for-22 shooting effort from the field and added four rebounds, four assists and three steals for good measure. According to OptaSTATS, Wilkerson is the only Division I or NBA player in the last 30 seasons to score 40+ points and make 10+ threes in a game while playing less than 25 minutes.

"All credit to my team and the coaches," Wilkerson said. "Coach told me today was going to be the day that I got hot because I've been having a rough couple games. He fed me the ball. I seen one, two, three go in, then after that they just like find the hot hand. They kept feeding me. The shots kept going in. ... Hole looked big as the ocean today, man. So I was just throwing it up there. It just happened to go in. All glory to God, man."

Trayce Jackson-Davis

On his way to becoming Indiana's third all-time leading scorer with 2,258 career points and the program's all-time leading rebounder with 1,143, Jackson-Davis had a huge night on Nov. 27, 2021 against Marshall.

The 6-foot-9 forward from Greenwood, Ind. hung 43 points on Marshall, which foolishly decided to play one-on-one defense as opposed to double-teaming the All-American. That made for an easy plan for the Hoosiers –– just get the ball to Jackson-Davis. Along with 18-for-24 shooting, he added five rebounds, five blocks, four assists and two steals.

Jackson-Davis didn't know he set the Assembly Hall scoring record at the time, but Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson certainly knew to feed him the ball that night.

"I actually told him, I said, 'Yo, don't get fooled. They don't want to double.' You're an All-American," Johnson said. "I believe he's the best player in America. So I'm like, 'Go get 40, brother.' That's disrespectful to us and to him as well."

Steve Alford

It didn't take long for Wilkerson to break Jackson-Davis' record, but the previous mark stood for 34 years. That was held by point guard Steve Alford, who scored 42 points against Michigan State on Feb. 4, 1987. He went 12-for-19 from the field, 4-for-5 from 3-point range and 14-for-15 at the free throw line.

Alford's historic performance was one step along the way to Indiana winning its most recent national championship in 1987. He finished his career as a two-time All-American and Indiana's all-time leading scorer, before eventually being passed by Calbert Cheaney.

Steve Downing

Nowadays, Downing often returns to Assembly Hall for exhibition games as Marian University's athletic director, and it must bring back memories of his 41-point game against Illinois on Feb. 12, 1973.

During his senior season, Downing averaged 20.1 points and 10.6 rebounds and the Hoosiers won the Big Ten title and reached the 1973 Final Four under Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight.

Ted Kitchel

On This Date - Jan. 10, 1981 - @IndianaMBB's Ted Kitchel makes all 18 of his free throw attempts in a 78-61 win over No. 12 Illinois, setting a school and Big Ten record. Kitchel also made 11 of 13 shots from the field on his way to a 40-point outing. pic.twitter.com/ODnweBU7wZ
— John Decker (@JYDecker) January 10, 2023

Kitchel wasn't the leading scorer on Indiana's 1980-81 national championship roster, but he can forever claim the season's highest-scoring performance. That came on Jan. 10, 1981, when the 6-foot-8 forward scored 40 points in a dominant win over Illinois.

Kitchel, along with teammates like Isiah Thomas, Ray Tolbert and Randy Wittman, helped the Hoosiers win the Big Ten title and their fourth national championship at the time.

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