Braden Smith of Purdue becomes 5th Division I player with 1,000 career assists
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Purdue point guard Braden Smith became the fifth player in Division I history to reach 1,000 assists with his sixth assist against No. 13 Michigan State on Thursday night.
Smith had an assist on the eighth-ranked Boilermakers’ opening basket, a 3-pointer by C.J. Cox. He got his sixth with 6:43 left in the first half on a basket by Trey Kaufman-Renn where goaltending was called.
Bobby Hurley of Duke (1990-93) holds the record with 1,076 assists. Smith entered averaging 8.7 assists per game. The Boilermakers have three games left before the Big Ten tournament.
Smith surpassed Michigan State’s Cassius Winston (2017-20) for the Big Ten career record earlier this season.
The 6-foot senior was a consensus first-team All-American last season and won the Bob Cousy Award for the top collegiate point guard.
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