Braden Smith delivered a standout performance for No. 18 Purdue, moving into second place on the NCAA career assists list. Smith’s 16 assists led the Boilermakers to an 81-68 victory over Northwestern. The senior guard’s achievement came in the Big Ten tournament.
Smith’s Record-Breaking Performance
Smith reached 1,045 assists across 142 games. He surpassed North Carolina’s Ed Cota (1,030) and North Carolina State’s Chris Corchiani (1,038). Bobby Hurley remains at No. 1 with 1,076 assists in 140 games for Duke from 1989 to 1993.
“I’ve been very thankful to be around a lot of great guys who can score and put the ball in the basket,” Smith said. “They trust me. … The coaching staff trusts me to go out there and make plays. When you give me confidence, it’s kind of what you want as a player.”
Purdue coach Matt Painter acknowledged the significance of Smith’s accomplishment. “It’s an unbelievable honor,” Painter said. “It’s an unbelievable feat to be where he is, to have the second-most assists in the history of the NCAA. He had one high major offer. He’s meant a lot to our program.”
Impact on the Game Against Northwestern
Smith also had two steals and just one turnover. Smith scored five points on 2-for-8 shooting. Purdue relied on their interior players against the smaller Wildcats.
Smith had nine assists in the first half. Purdue jumped to a 45-21 lead at the break. Northwestern reduced the deficit to 73-59 with 5:57 remaining, but Smith passed to Oscar Cluff for a layup.
Praise from the Opposition
Northwestern coach Chris Collins described Smith as “a special player.” Collins stated, “His level of consistency, his smarts, and he’s been a big winner,” adding, “This is a championship-level player. It wasn’t just about assists. He’s won Big Ten championships. He’s been in a national championship game.”
Collins played alongside Hurley for one season at Duke. He said he expected to hear from his former teammate after the game. “I’m afraid to look at my phone because I’m sure Bobby has texted me with some expletives about not doing
Reflecting on his performance, Smith said, “As a competitor, I take it to heart every game I don’t play well. Other than the assists, I don’t think I played great today. I didn’t shoot it well. I thought I had some defensive parts here and there that I thought I did good at. Overall, for us and for me, it was good to get them again and to play them. I thought defensively we were a lot better.”