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Purdue’s Braden Smith sets NCAA all-time assists record in first-round game
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Purdue senior guard Braden Smith has accomplished a ton during his stellar college basketball career in West Lafayette, including helping the Boilermakers to the precipice of a national championship a few years ago.
Add another milestone to Smith’s college hoops portfolio, and it’s a big one. On Friday night, during an NCAA Tournament first-round game against Queens University in St. Louis, Smith became the all-time assists leader in college basketball.
The magical moment happened during the first half of the first-round West Region game. Smith, who’s averaging 9.1 assists per game this season, made a nifty feed at the top of the key to fellow Purdue star Trey Kaufman-Renn, who did the rest with a layup that gave Smith his 1,077th career assist.
Smith was suddenly atop the college basketball mountain in assists, passing former Duke star Bobby Hurley, and he appropriately had the glorious stage of an NCAA Tournament game to make his history.
The game was stopped for a brief moment so Smith could soak in the standing ovation from the Purdue fans in St. Louis. There was 12:11 remaining in the first half and the basket gave the second-seeded Boilermakers a 17-12 lead as they began a journey to try to get back to the championship game, where they fell to UConn in 2024.
Those adoring Purdue fans had cool signs on Friday night that read “Assist King,” complete with a crown. They were ready for the special moment, and Smith provided it early in the battle to get to the Round of 32.
With Purdue being a No. 2 seed in the West Region, the Boilermakers have high hopes this March (and maybe early April). Here is what the Kalshi market sees for the top teams in the mix to make it all the way to the Final Four:
