__NOTOC__ In basketball, an assist is a pass to a teammate that directly leads to a score by field goal. The top 25 highest assists totals in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball history are listed below. The NCAA did not split into its current divisions format until August 1973. From 1906 to 1955, there were no classifications to the NCAA nor its predecessor, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States (IAAUS). Then, from 1956 to spring 1973, colleges were classified as either "NCAA University Division (Major College)" or "NCAA College Division (Small College)". Assists are a relatively new statistic in college basketball, having only become an official statistic beginning with the 1983–84 season. Therefore Billy Allen, who split his career between SMU and Nevada and amassed 940 assists during his career between 1978 and 1983, is not officially recognized in the all-time ranks.
According to the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball media guide, there were also two seasons in the early 1950s in which assists were recorded: 1950–51 and 1951–52.
The current all-time leader in career assists is Braden Smith of the Purdue Boilermakers. He recorded 1,103 assists in 149 games (7.40 per game average) between 2022 and 2026. Second on the list is Bobby Hurley of the Duke Blue Devils who compiled 1,076 assists over four seasons. Only three other players besides Smith and Hurley have recorded 1,000 career assists at the Division I level: Chris Corchiani of NC State (1,038), Ed Cota of North Carolina (1,030), and Jason Brickman of LIU Brooklyn (1,009). Sherman Douglas of Syracuse is the only player on this list who also recorded 20 or more assists in a single game at both the Division I and National Basketball Association levels. For his college career, he played in 138 games while recording 960 assists.
Key
Pos.GFCRef. Position Guard Forward Center References
* Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a player C ^ Player still active in NCAA Division I
Top 25 career assists leaders
PlayerPos. Team Career start Career end Gamesplayed Assists Ref. G Purdue 2022 2026 149 1,103 7.40 G Duke 1989 1993 140 1,076 7.68 G NC State 1987 1991 124 1,038 8.37 G North Carolina 1996 2000 138 1,030 7.46 G LIU Brooklyn 2010 2014 130 1,009 7.76 G East Tennessee State 1987 1991 127 983 7.74 G Maryland 1999 2003 138 972 7.04 G Syracuse 1985 1989 138 960 6.95 G Marquette 1991 1995 123 956 7.77 G Kansas 2001 2005 138 954 6.91 G Portland /UNLV 1987 1991 138 950 6.88 G Notre Dame / Oklahoma State 1995 2000 124 947 7.63 * G Oregon State 1986 1990 120 939 7.82 G Ohio 2009 2013 143 934 6.53 C G North Carolina A&T 2017 2022 148 902 6.09 G San Francisco 1990 1994 116 902 7.77 G Northeastern 1983 1987 128 894 6.98 G Arkansas State 1996 2000 114 893 7.83 G Michigan State 2016 2020 139 890 6.40 G Cleveland State /Bradley 1982 1986 118 884 7.49 G Old Dominion 1984 1988 120 883 7.35 G Creighton /Gonzaga 2021 2025 134 882 6.58 G Iona 2008 2012 132 880 6.66 G Saint Louis 2019 2023 116 878 7.56 G Delaware 1984 1988 110 877 7.97
References General
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