Ranking the Top 10 Sharpshooters in College Basketball

Is shooting a basketball a lost art?

The Houston Chronicle's Tim Griffin states some alarming stats in his Feb. 1 article:

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Division I teams are averaging 67.7 points per game this season, the lowest figure since 1981-82. Field-goal accuracy has dipped to 43.3 percent, the lowest level since 1964-65. And 3-point shooting of 33.9 percent is the lowest since the rule was instituted in 1986-87.

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In spite of those sobering figures, sharpshooters still exist in college hoops. There are still plenty of players who can step outside and knock down jump shot after jump shot.

Let's take a lightning-fast look at the top 10 sharpshooters in college basketball. These are the players who shoot the best percentage from beyond the arc with at least 100 three-point attempts this season.

There's a good chance that you will know half of these players already, and there's a good chance you will be introduced to half of these players who are proficient from beyond the arc.

Stats provided by ESPN.

10. Kevin Hartley (Gardner Webb)

Kevin Hartley is a 6'6" wing player from Gardner Webb (in the Big South Conference).

Hartley is knocking down 47 percent of his shots from downtown.

Two-thirds of Hartley's points (8.6 PPG) come off three-pointers.

The senior from Klein, Texas, has had seven games where he has hit at least three shots from beyond the arc.

9. Steve Frankoski (Columbia)

Steve Frankoski is the top sharpshooter in the Ivy League, and one of the best in the nation.

The 6'2" junior is burying 47.1 percent of his threes (48-of-102).

Over the weekend, Frankoski hit five of his seven shots from beyond the arc on his way to scoring 27 and helping the Lions take down first-place Harvard.

8. Nik Stauskas (Michigan)

Nik Stauskas is one of if not the best freshmen shooter from beyond the arc.

So far in the 2012-13 season, Stauskas has hit 61-of-128 threes (47.7 percent).

With all of the other perimeter talent on the Michigan roster, the 6'6" wing from Canada has still clearly carved out his place on this top-ranked team.

7. Jordan Hulls (Indiana)

Jordan Hulls plays an important role on the No. 1-ranked Hoosiers.

The 6'0" senior takes more threes (57-of-119) than anyone else on Indiana, and he is knocking down 47.9 percent.

Along with Hulls, IU can also look to Christian Watford and Victor Oladipo to connect from long distance.

6. Doug McDermott (Creighton)

Doug McDermott makes full use of his three-point shooting ability as the nation's No. 2 scorer.

The 6'8" junior forward hits 48.2 percent of his shots (54-of-112) from downtown. 

Earlier this season, McDermott hit six threes against Akron. Nice!

5. Joe Harris (Virginia)

Joe Harris has helped the Cavaliers quietly maneuver their way into the ACC race. Virginia is currently in third place behind Miami and Duke.

The fact that Harris is hitting 48.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc helps him lead UVa in scoring (16.3 PPG).

4. Ryan Sypkens (Cal-Davis)

Ryan Sypkens' three-point shooting is one of the few bright spots on a dismal UC-Davis Aggies (9-13) team.

The 6'4" senior is connecting on 48.5 percent (83-of-171) of his threes.

Earlier this season, Sypkens hit seven threes against Northern Arizona.

3. Erik Murphy (Florida)

At 6'10", Erik Murphy is the tallest player on this list.

Obviously, Murphy has no problem stepping out to the perimeter and knocking down threes.

So far, he has connected on 49 percent (49-of-100) of his shots from beyond the arc.

2. John Schoof (American)

John Schoof is a three-point shooting maniac.

He scores almost 75 percent of his points from beyond the arc.

Schoof almost single-handedly sunk Navy by hitting 8-of-10 threes in their January matchup.

On the season, he is hitting 50.9 percent of his threes.

1. Ian Clark (Belmont)

Ian Clark is the top three-point shooter (among players who have at least 100 attempts). 

Clark is hitting 51.2 percent of his threes.

The 6'3" senior hit nine of 11 treys against Northeastern.

Clark leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring (19.3 PPG) and is tied for No. 19 in the nation.