Ranking the Deadliest 3-Point Assassins in College Basketball in 2014-15

Tyler Harvey is the deadliest three-point assassin in college basketball since Stephen Curry.

He joins the likes of Isiah Umipig and D'Angelo Russell atop our list of the most lethal long-range shooters, hoping to put an end to all of the hubbub about scoring being down and college kids being unable to put the ball into the hoop.

In reducing the field of candidates to a manageable number, three things were taken into consideration: three-point percentage, three-point shots made per game and team wins. The thresholds were 39.5 percent, 2.25 per game and 12 team wins—sorry, but no one cares if you're shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc if your team is winning 42 percent of its games.

With a very limited number of exceptions—Devin Booker doesn't play enough to make that many shots per game, Umipig has been unbelievable for a 10-win team, etc.—players who failed to reach all three criteria were removed from the pool.

Another round of cuts was made to only leave players who are either making 45 percent of their three-point attempts or making at least 2.6 per game.

That brought the field of candidates down to 29. From there, the most cold-blooded snipers were selected with exceptional percentage and frequency reigning supreme.

Long story short, we didn't randomly choose these names out of a hat. If you have a problem with someone not making the cut, tell that player to start making more shots at a higher clip.

Honorable Mentions

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Lest you think only 10 players are capable of consistently making shots this year, here's a quick thought on 10 other guys who are draining more than their fair share of three-pointers.

Chase Fischer, BYU (69-of-158): He was a tough omission at first, but take out the 10-of-13 game against Chaminade and factor in BYU's pace and the fact that Fischer gets open looks by being the Cougars' third scoring option, and it wasn't that hard to find 10 more deserving players.

A.J. English, Iona (62-of-157): English is an outstanding shooter, but he isn't even the best candidate from his own team.

Ameen Tanksley, Hofstra (55-of-113): Like English, Tanksley probably would have made the list were it not for a teammate who is more suitable. 

Devareaux Manley, Kent State (57-of-134): Manley makes plenty of triples, but 42.5 percent for a mid-major player facing a pretty weak schedule wasn't enough to make the cut.

Alec Peters, Valparaiso (55-of-117): Everyone loves a big man with range, and 6'9" Peters has plenty of it. However, he's shooting just 36.7 percent in January after draining 50.6 percent of his three-point attempts in November and December.

Joey Ptasinski, Lafayette (51-of-97): Ptasinski has been extremely accurate at 52.6 percent, but he is only taking 16.1 percent of Lafayette's shots while he is on the court.

Tyler Kalinoski, Davidson (50-of-115): With Jack Gibbs out with a tear in his meniscus, Davidson's tournament hopes will rest even more heavily on Kalinoski's shooting arm.

Sterling Gibbs, Seton Hall (45-of-98): Gibbs likely would have made it into the top 10 were it not for his 0-of-7 night in Thursday's loss to DePaul.

Justin Anderson, Virginia (40-of-76): One of the biggest surprises of the season, Anderson is shooting 52.6 percent for the undefeated Cavaliers after shooting 29.4 percent last year. He's only averaging 4.2 attempts per game, though.

Devin Booker, Kentucky (34-of-68): Booker is shooting 57.9 percent from downtown since a rough three-game stretch to start his college career, but he simply doesn't get enough shots to be one of the nation's deadliest assassins.

10. Marcus Thornton, William & Mary

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Season Stats: 19.4 PPG, 46.0 3P%, 3.2 3PG

Best Game: 37 points, 8-of-11 from three-point range at Richmond (Dec. 3)

Marcus Thornton was one of our exceptions to the 12-win rule—William & Mary only has 11 victories—but how could we deny a man who is on pace for 100 three-pointers while shooting 46 percent in the process?

The Tribe don't have a ton of wins, but they would have significantly less without him. Thornton has scored at least 15 points in 15 of his last 16 games and has made at least two three-pointers in 15 of those 16 games, as well.

Take out his first two games of the season—Thornton shot 1-of-13 from downtown against Florida and Howard—and he's shooting 50.5 percent and making 3.5 triples per game.

He has been nothing short of incredible, but will his legs handle the workload this season? He was shooting 42.2 percent from three-point range in early February of last season, but he shot just 34.5 percent over his final nine games.

It doesn't help his campaign for deadliest three-point assassin that he struggled when the world was watching. He was 0-of-5 against Florida and 2-of-8 against North Carolina. Lighting up James Madison is great, but it would have been nice to see him hit some shots on the big stage.

9. Rashawn Rembert, East Tennessee State

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Season Stats: 17.5 PPG, 42.5 3P%, 3.9 3PG

Best Game: 30 points, 9-of-17 from three-point range at Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 16)

As a team, East Tennessee State is shooting 39.7 percent from three-point range and averaging 10.7 made three-pointers per game. From both a frequency and accuracy standpoint, the Buccaneers are one of the very best long-range teams in the country.

At the forefront of their assault is Rashawn Rembert.

The senior is averaging a Marshall Henderson-like 9.3 attempts per game, but he's making them at such a high percentage that you almost wonder why he isn't taking even more shots.

He's still warming up, too. Over his last nine games, Rembert is shooting 46.8 percent from three-point range. Only once during that stretch did he shoot worse than 40.0 percent in a game.

It's not like anyone is going to slow him down any time soon, either. Outside of Wofford, no team in the Southern Conference even knows how to play defense.

8. Pat Connaughton, Notre Dame

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Season Stats: 14.0 PPG, 45.5 3P%, 2.8 3PG

Best Game: 17 points, 5-of-6 from three-point range at Virginia Tech (Jan. 22)

The crazy thing about Pat Connaughton being one of the most lethal three-point shooters in the country is that basketball probably isn't even his best sport. The right-handed pitcher was drafted in the fourth round by the Baltimore Orioles this past June and will likely head straight from the NCAA tournament to the minor leagues.

While he's here, though, let's be sure to appreciate what we have.

A key part of one of the nation's most efficient offenses, Connaughton already has eight games with at least four made three-pointers—even though he has not yet attempted more than nine triples in a game this season.

He picks his spots and picks them well.

But what really makes Connaughton deadly is his rebounding.

Most three-point assassins are specialists in that trade and not much else. Their sole purpose in life is to find an opening on the perimeter.

Connaughton, though, averages 8.4 rebounds per game. To stop him from destroying you on the glass, you need to defend him with a forward. To keep him from destroying you from beyond the arc, you need to defend him with a guard.

It's no wonder no one can figure out how to slow him down.

7. Buddy Hield, Oklahoma

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Season Stats: 18.1 PPG, 39.9 3P%, 3.1 3PG

Best Game: 25 points, 7-of-7 from three-point range vs. Southeastern Louisiana (Nov. 16)

Isaiah Cousins is actually the more accurate three-point-shooting Sooner, but Buddy Hield is taking and making the most. Plus, he seems to always be the one hitting the big shots.

Unlike most on the list who got off to a slow start before catching fire, Hield opened the season with a bang, draining each of his seven long-range attempts in Oklahoma's first game of the year. He has made at least one triple in each game this season and has attempted at least five in every game but one—last weekend's 10-of-10 game against Oklahoma State in which he took and made just four three-pointers.

Hield is quite inconsistent. He had a streak of eight consecutive games earlier this season in which he either shot better than 59 percent or worse than 34 percent—nothing in between.

When he's hot, though, look out. There are times where opposing teams might as well just worry about not letting anyone else beat them, because when Hield wants 20 points, he gets them.

As noted in Ryan Krasnoo's piece for Sports Illustrated on Hield's 10-of-10 game, Hield said before the season, "Not many guys have the energy I put on the floor. I play with a chip on my shoulder, and I play like there's something I want and I'm not going to stop playing until I get it."

He wasn't kidding.

6. Isaiah Williams, Iona

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Season Stats: 14.2 PPG, 46.4 3P%, 3.1 3PG

Best Game: 26 points, 6-of-10 from three-point range vs. Canisius (Jan. 10)

We need to put an asterisk on this one because Isaiah Williams has missed the past three games with a foot injury.

Prior to his absence, though, Williams was the best shooter for one of the best shooting teams in the country.

Much like Rashawn Rembert at East Tennessee State, Williams is one of many on the team. Iona has three players who have made at least 50 three-pointers this season. But he is the one that his team can least afford to live without—in the three games since losing him, the Gaels lost to Canisius and only beat 3-14 Niagara by one point.

Certainly, part of that is due to the fact that they miss his defense—the 6'7" guard leads the team in both blocks and steals. But they absolutely miss his offense too.

In the four games before the injury, Williams was averaging 17.5 points per game and shooting 61.5 percent from downtown. Even if he was a complete liability on defense, they would sorely miss that type of production.

The Gaels are 9-0 when Williams scores at least 14 points. They are 5-6 in all other games.

Hurry back.

5. Brian Bernardi, Hofstra

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Season Stats: 12.6 PPG, 47.0 3P%, 3.1 3PG

Best Game: 23 points, 6-of-10 from three-point range vs. Drexel (Jan. 21)

SMU is one of the weakest three-point-shooting teams in the country. On average, the Mustangs attempt just over 12 three-pointers per game—ranking 348th in the country. And it's only going to get worse with Keith Frazier losing his appeal to play again this season.

Relevance, your honor?

Brian Bernardi was supposed to be draining his three-pointers for Larry Brown and company. He played his freshman season at SMU before deciding to transfer closer to home.

Thus far, he and Ameen Tanksley have become arguably the best one-two three-point-shooting punch in the nation. Tanksley is shooting 48.7 percent for the Pride, but we gave Bernardi the spot in the top 10 because he's more of a three-point specialist—77 percent of his attempts have come from downtown as opposed to 46 percent for Tanksley.

Bernardi has four games this season with at least six made three-pointers. It's hard to believe opponents haven't yet figured out how to slow him down, given his role as a gunner and not much else.

4. D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State

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Season Stats: 19.3 PPG, 45.3 3P%, 2.9 3PG

Best Game: 33 points, 6-of-11 from three-point range at Northwestern (Jan. 22)

Congratulations to the upperclassmen who are doing work against minor conferences, but here we have a freshman who is kicking you-know-what and taking names in what has historically and anecdotally been one of the most defensive-minded conferences in the country.

Yes, Ohio State played a miserable nonconference schedule. Yes, D'Angelo Russell had some outstanding games against the likes of Sacred Heart, Campbell and North Carolina A&T.

However, he has been even more incredible in conference.

Through seven Big Ten games, Russell is averaging 22.3 points while shooting 43.4 percent from three-point range. In a word, he has been unstoppable.

Thursday night against Northwestern may have been his most assassin-like game yet. He scored Ohio State's final 13 points, including this cross-over, pull-up dagger that pretty much iced the game.

Throw in the rebounds, assists and steals, and Russell legitimately might be the most valuable player in the country.

3. Corey Hawkins, UC Davis

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Season Stats: 20.8 PPG, 51.0 3P%, 3.1 3PG

Best Game: 33 points, 6-of-11 from three-point range at Idaho (Dec. 6)

Corey Hawkins is UC Davis' entire team. He is leading the Aggies in points, rebounds, steals and assists per game.

Without a doubt, he must be the primary focus for every opposing team's defense.

Thus, it's downright absurd that he's shooting 51.0 percent from three-point range.

Like D'Angelo Russell, Hawkins is a triple-threat kind of guy who always seems to have the ball in his hands. If you don't get right up in his face, he's going to drain a three-pointer. If you do get in his face, he'll drive right past you to the hoop.

A box-and-one defense might be the only way to slow him down, but one thing is for sure: whatever his last four opponents did was not the right answer. He has committed a ton of turnovers, but Hawkins has averaged 24.8 points while shooting 57.1 percent from downtown over his last four.

The funny thing is that he couldn't buy a three-point bucket last season. Ryan Sypkens was the primary three-point threat for the Aggies in 2013-14, as Hawkins shot 32.2 percent from beyond the arc. He's certainly making up for lost time this year.

2. Isiah Umipig, Seattle

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Season Stats: 17.8 PPG, 47.5 3P%, 4.3 3PG

Best Game: 30 points, 7-of-11 from three-point range at Chicago State (Jan. 22)

The previous eight guys on the list? They're amateurs compared to these top two three-point assassins.

Four players in the country are averaging better than 3.4 made three-pointers per game: Damon Lynn—who didn't even make the first round of cuts because he's shooting 36.6 percent—Rashawn Rembert (No. 9) and our top two studs.

Isiah Umipig has more games this season with at least seven made three-pointers (five) than he has games with fewer than three made triples (four).

Unfortunately, it hasn't helped the 10-8 Redhawks win many games, and he has struggled to consistently bring it against above-average teams.

In seven games against teams currently in the KenPom.com Top 175, Umipig is averaging 16.3 points and shooting 37.1 percent from three-point range. Take away the 33-point game against UC Davis and those numbers drop to 13.5 and 34.0, respectively.

Still, what he has been able to do in the other 11 games is pretty ridiculous, shooting 54.0 percent from three-point range. And he only plays one more game this season against a Top 175 team, so he should finish the regular season in the vicinity of 130 made three-pointers.

That's a threshold that only three players have reached in the past five years: Akeem Richmond (153 in 2013-14), Marshall Henderson (131 in 2012-13) and Travis Bader (134 in 2012-13 and 147 in 2013-14).

1. Tyler Harvey, Eastern Washington

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Season Stats: 23.8 PPG, 49.1 3P%, 4.5 3PG

Best Game: 39 points, 7-of-10 from three-point range vs. Weber State (Jan. 1)

As great as Isiah Umipig has been, he doesn't even hold a candle to Tyler Harvey.

Playing in the Big Sky conference that produced Damian Lillard, Harvey has scored at least 16 points in every game this season and has made at least three three-pointers against each Division I opponent. Over his last nine games, Harvey is averaging 27.6 points and shooting 56.1 percent (46-of-82) from three-point range.

Now for the really crazy part: He has played 39.1 minutes per game during that stretch for one of the more uptempo teams in the country.

He should be running out of gas. Instead, he scored 35 points and made five of nine triples in his most recent game.

Basically, he isn't human.

The all-time record for made three-pointers in a season is 162, set by Stephen Curry during the 2007-08 season. That was the year Davidson went to the Elite Eight, so Curry got to play 36 games.

If Eastern Washington wins the Big Sky tournament and its first game of the NCAA tournament to get to 36 games—a pretty big "if" but not impossible—Harvey would be on pace for 163 triples.

When you're at least in the discussion to break a record set by Curry, you're one heck of an assassin.

Harvey even has the baby face to match.

Statistics on the following slides courtesy of NCAA.com, ESPN.com and KenPom.com and are current through the start of play on Friday, January 23. 

Kerry Miller covers college basketball for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @kerrancejames.