Lamar Wilkerson Joins Indiana Basketball Record Books

Positives were few and far between during Indiana's 93-64 loss at No. 7 Purdue on Friday night at Mackey Arena.

But if there's anything optimistic to take away from that game, it'd be that Indiana still has one of the best shooters in program history for the season's home stretch.

That's Lamar Wilkerson, who set the Indiana men's basketball program record for made 3-pointers in Big Ten play in a single season with 55. On Friday, he finished with 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers in seven tries.

Indiana's all-time 3-point leaders

Steve Alford Nevada Basketball — Nevada Wolf Pack coach Steve Alford against the Air Force Falcons at Clune Arena on Feb. 4, 2025. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

With 55 3-pointers made in Big Ten play this season, Wilkerson passed Steve Alford, whose previous record of 54 stood since 1987. Ironically, Alford's record was nearly broken the following season by Jay Edwards with 52 3-pointers in 1988.

There have been a few close contenders in recent years, including Luke Goode with 48 in 2025 and Yogi Ferrell with 51 in 2014. Along with his 2015 and 2016 Big Ten seasons, Ferrell holds three of the top six spots in this category.

Wilkerson also has a chance to pass Alford for most 3-pointers made in all games in a single season, including Big Ten play and nonconference play. Alford set that record in 1986-87, when he made 107 3-pointers, and no one has come particularly close to catching him.

James Blackmon Jr. is second with 91 3-pointers during the 2016-17 season, and Wilkerson is tied with Ferrell at 88. That puts Wilkerson 20 3-pointers away from breaking Alford's record with four regular season games remaining, plus the Big Ten Tournament and a potential NCAA Tournament bid.

Yogi Ferrell Indiana Basketball — Indiana Hoosiers guard Yogi Ferrell (11) dribbles against Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyler Ulis (3) during the 2016 NCAA Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Wilkerson averages 3.3 3-pointers per game, so it'd take him roughly six games to pass Alford. However, Wilkerson has nine games with at least five 3-pointers made, so he's certainly capable of breaking the record earlier, but it's no guarantee either way. He made 109 3-pointers last season at Sam Houston State, good for 44.5%.

Wilkerson's biggest game came on Dec. 9 against Penn State, when he set a program record with 10 3-pointers made. That passed Matt Roth, Roderick and Robert Johnson, who each had made nine 3-pointers in a game during their Indiana careers.

Wilkerson is currently shooting 38.1% from 3-point range across all games and 37.4% in 16 Big Ten games, which putting him out of contention for Indiana's single-season records for 3-point percentage.

Pat Graham shot 56.9% (41-for-72) in 1993-94, which still stands as the single-season record in all games. Matt Roth holds Indiana's record for 3-point percentage in Big Ten play after shooting 59.2% (29-for-49) in 2011-12. Alford is the career record-holder at 53% in all games, while Edwards' 53.2% is best among Hoosiers all-time in Big Ten play.

Wilkerson can't reach those numbers because he shoots at such a high volume with 231 attempts through 27 games. But he may be able to finish high on the all-time leaderboards in other categories.

Wilkerson is currently averaging 21.1 points in all games, which would pass Mike Woodson (21.0) for 21st place in a single season. He'd also have the fourth-highest career scoring average in Indiana history, behind only George McGinnis (29.9), Don Schlundt (23.3) and Archie Dees (22.7).

Wilkerson has been even better in Big Ten play, leading the conference with 23.9 points per game. That'd put him third on Indiana's leaderboard, behind only George McGinnis (29.9) and Don Schlundt (26.7). From a single-season Big Ten scoring average standpoint, Wilkerson's current numbers would rank ninth in program history.

While he likely can't catch Calbert Cheaney's single-season scoring record of 785 points, Wilkerson is up to 571 following Friday's game. If he maintains his Big Ten scoring average for six more games, he'd have just over 714 points, which would rank seventh in program history in a single season.

Wilkerson has a realistic chance of setting Indiana's record for most points in a Big Ten season. Schlundt holds that record with 459, but if Wilkerson maintains his current average of 23.9 over the next four games, he'd have over 478, passing Schlundt.