Purdue guard Braden Smith sets program record for most assists in a season vs Illinois

When it comes to Purdue Boilermakers men’s basketball, there is a lot of noise surrounding raining player of the year center Zach Edey. However, in Tuesday night’s colossal prime-time matchup between the Boilermakers and Illinois Fighting Illini, it was point guard Braden Smith making history.

In the first half, Smith set a new regular season assist record for Purdue, notching his 208th dish of the season. And it’s only right that the recipient of the majority of his assists this season was on the receiving end of the record-setting dime. Smith found Edey in the paint for a monstrous dunk that helped cut Illinois’ early first half lead to eight.

At the half, Illinois enjoyed a six-point, 40-34 lead at home. The Fighting Illini hasn’t had much of an answer for Edey in the paint. Still, they have limited the rest of the Boilermakers cast on the offensive side of the court. While Edey had a game-high 18 points at intermission, no other Boilermaker player had more than four points in the game.

Smith’s clutch shot seals the win for Purdue

It was a night to remember for Smith as not only did he set the new regular season assist mark for Purdue, with the opportunity to still build on it, but he also came up big for the Boilermakers late. After scoring just four points in the first half, the sophomore point guard would tack on nine more points in the second. But arguably, there was none bigger than his last three points of the game, which was a dagger 3-point shot with 19 seconds left on the clock to give Purdue the 77-71 lead and the victory.

Smith stuffed his stat sheet against Illinois and finished the game with 13 points, four rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Leading the Boilermakers in scoring on the night was Edey, who finished the game with 28 points. Illinois did a much better job boxing out and limiting the Boilermakers’ star center from having an impact on the boards, as he finished the game with just eight rebounds. Still, it was not enough as Purdue overcame their first half deficit to pick up the win and advance to 27-3. The victory over Illinois also gives Purdue the outright Big Ten regular season conference title.