With just under thirteen minutes left in the second half of Purdue’s victory over Wisconsin Saturday night at the Kohl Center, Braden Smith tied the all-time assists record in Big Ten history with a pass to Gicarri Harris, who drained a three-pointer despite being fouled on the play. Less than four minutes later, he dished off under the basket to Oscar Cluff, who converted on the layup to give Smith sole possession of the record. Smith finished the night with twelve assists, putting his career total at 893, three more than Cassius Winston, who toiled for Michigan State from 2017-20.
The win, giving the Boilermakers a 3-0 start in Big Ten play for just the third time under coach Matt Painter, was also the 100th victory for Purdue’s senior class, making them the eighth-fastest class in Big Ten history to reach 100 career victories with 124 career games. Smith and the Boilermakers look to extend their records tomorrow against Washington at Mackey Arena.