UR's Borst-Smith To Receive Assist of the Year Award in Houston

More news about: Rochester
Mar 31, 2016

University of Rochester junior guard Sam Borst-Smith will be in Houston, Texas on Thursday evening to be honored for a play he made on Super Bowl Sunday.

Borst-Smith will be feted as the winner of the inaugural State Farm Assist of the Year contest during the College Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships. He will receive his award during the competition while the video of his play is shown to the crowd in the NRG Stadium. The competition is being televised live by ESPN and the network will show Borst-Smith's play over the air.
On February 7, Rochester trailed the University of Chicago, 76-73, with 2.7 seconds left in overtime. Borst-Smith was fouled and went to the line for two free throws. He made the first (76-74), then intentionally missed the second by throwing the ball off the front of the rim. It came right back to him and he passed to teammate Mack Montague in the left corner for a three-pointer. Montague's shot went through the net as the buzzer sounded, giving Rochester a 77-76 victory.

The video of the play became a sensation on social media that evening and made ESPN's Top 10 Plays of the Day as #2 – with the number one play from Super Bowl 50 between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. It was shown on a variety of internet-based media, including Fox Sports, D3hoops.com, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, NBC Sports, MSNBC.  Within four days, it had more than 600,000 views. Later in the month, it was showcased on a public television station in Germany where it accumulated another 500,000 views. 

The play was submitted as an entry in the State Farm Assist of the Year contest, run by Intersport, an internet company based in Chicago. Borst-Smith finished first in a 'semifinal' round of voting among players from three other institutions – Seton Hall, Butler, and a women's player from Charlotte. He advanced to the finals where he was matched up against men's players from Michigan State, Kentucky, and a women's player from Academy of Art in San Francisco.

Q&A With Sam Borst-Smith and Mack Montague

Here is the list of dates and broadcast times for the College Slam Dunk and 3-Point championships which will include the presentation to Borst-Smith:

 

Live: Thursday, March 31: 9:00-11:00pm ET on ESPN

Friday, April 1: 1:00-3:00am ET on ESPNU

Friday, April 1: 8:00-10:00am ET on ESPNU

Saturday, April 2: 2:00-4:00pm ET on ESPN

Saturday, April 2: 5:30-7:30pm ET on ESPN2

Sunday, April 3: 5:00-7:00pm ET on ESPNU

Monday, April 4: 4:00-6:00am ET on ESPNU

Tuesday, April 12: 7:00-9:00pm ET on ESPN2

Saturday, April 16: 7:00-9:00pm ET on ESPN2