WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For the second time this season and third time in his career, Braden Smith was named the Big Ten Player of the Week for his role in two Boilermaker victories last week.
The No. 5-ranked Boilermakers, led by Smith, dominated in its two victories, defeating Kent State 101-60 and Wisconsin 89-73 to improve to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten Conference.
Smith averaged 13.0 points, 10.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals while shooting 60.0 percent (12-of-20) from the field in the two victories.
Smith scored 12 points with eight assists, four rebounds and two steals in just 27 minutes of a 101-60 win over Kent State on Dec. 29. He followed that up with a sterling 14-point, 12-assist effort against Wisconsin in an 89-73 win over Saturday.
During the win over Wisconsin, Smith set the Big Ten Conference’s career assists record, now with 893 assists, moving into the top 20 all-time in the NCAA record books. Smith now just needs 174 assists to set the NCAA record of 1,076 set by Duke’s Bobby Hurley from 1990-93.
On the season, Smith leads the country in assists per game at 9.6 per game, while averaging 12.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He is shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from 3-point range and has double-digit assists in four of the last five games.
He is one of two players in NCAA history with 1,500 career points, 850 assists and 500 rebounds (Ohio’s D.J. Cooper, 2010-13).
Smith and the No. 5-ranked Boilermakers host Washington on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. in Mackey Arena.