Purdue’s Braden Smith breaks Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record that seemed unbreakable

Bobby Hurley’s all-time NCAA assists record that has stood for 33 years was toppled during NCAA Tournament play on Friday.

With Braden Smith’s second assist in Purdue’s Round of 64 matchup against Queens, he reached 1,077 career assists to edge out the 1,076 dishes by the former Arizona State coach while at Duke (1989-93). He assisted Trey Kaufman-Renn for a layup at the 12:11 mark of the first half.

CONGRATS TO BRADEN SMITH 👏#MarchMadness https://t.co/QOD4ei9qTY pic.twitter.com/mX8sx2kIPC

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2026

He finished Purdue’s 104-71 win with eight assists. The Boilermakers will face No. 7-seed Miami at 9:10 a.m. on Sunday.

Up until Smith, the closest another player got to catching Hurley was 46 assists away (North Carolina’s Ed Cota). Smith is only the fifth player to surpass the 1,000 mark.

Early entries into the NBA Draft, which became much more common after the 1995 CBA introduced the rookie wage scale, played a big part in why the record has stood so long. Games played did as well, as only four of the top 25 players in assists logged at least 140 games, including Smith and Hurley.

Smith is one of two active players in college basketball to have started every game of a four-year career with the same school, the other being his backcourt mate Fletcher Loyer, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Smith led the Big Ten in assists as a sophomore (7.5 per game) and junior (8.7) and his career-high 9.1 assists per game as a senior rank second in the country (Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears at 9.2). He averaged 11.5 assists per game in Purdue’s Big Ten conference tournament title run.

“It goes a long way when you have a lot of good people that surround myself,” Smith told reporters after the title win. “I thank all my teammates, obviously, throughout my four years who have helped me achieve that.

“It goes with them as much as it goes with me.”

While Smith now holds the all-time record, Hurley can brag that he set his record in fewer games (140) than it took Smith (146 and counting). Hurley also has two national championship rings, while Smith has none to this point.

Related

Bobby Hurley informed his contract won't be renewed, ASU issues statement of thanksGambo 5: Candidates for ASU to replace Bobby Hurley as men's basketball coachRJ Godfrey signs with Arizona, expected to be Wildcats’ starting power forwardFederal college sports legislation gets support from SEC, Big Ten as Dillingham calls for clarityASU football adds 2 players days before fall camp, parts ways with anotherCourt rulings grant NCAA athletes from high school class of 2022 another year of eligibility