ORLANDO, Fla. — It's no secret Creighton has an affection for the 3-point shot.

It's also no secret that, with the exception of freshman Ethan Wragge, the Bluejays are having problems making those attempts in their first five games.

Wragge is shooting 53.6 percent from beyond the arc, having made 15 of his 28 attempts. The rest of the Bluejays have made 31 of 108 3-point shots for 28.7 percent.

“That's how basketball is — somedays they're going, somedays they're not,'' Wragge said Saturday. “When we're shooting, we need to shoot with confidence. That's something we talked about today at practice.

“Don't just shoot a shot, shoot it to make it.''

In each of its two Old Spice Classic games, Creighton shot 30.8 percent from 3-point range, making 8 of 26 attempts in the overtime loss to Michigan and a 13-point setback to Xavier. Wragge, a 6-foot-7 freshman from Edina, Minn., made 7 of 14 attempts, while his teammates are 9 of 42 (21.4 percent).

In its first three games, CU shot 34.8 percent from 3-point range against Dayton, 35.5 percent against Florida A&M and 36.7 percent against Arkansas-Little Rock. The latter two games were at home, and the Bluejays won both.

“I talked to them about if they're going to take a shot, shoot it like you mean it,'' coach Dana Altman said. “We have some guys getting caught in between. They're not sure if they should shoot it. They haven't hit shots, and they don't know if they want it. I told them that I have no problem with them taking shots but shoot it like you want it. If you don't, pass it.''

Where's Iona?

The question of the day for the Bluejays: Where is Iona located?

“No idea,'' forward Wayne Runnels said.“I don't know,'' Wragge said.

Most of their teammates also didn't have any idea where the team the Bluejays' will play today at 9 a.m. is located. The one who did was Chad Millard, who grew up in New Hampshire. “It's in New York.'' To be exact, it's about 20 miles north of Manhattan, in New Rochelle. The school, founded by the Christian Brothers in 1940, has an enrollment of about 4,300. Athletically, the Gaels compete in 21 Division I sports.

Extra credit question: What is a Gael? According to the school's Web site, it's anyone of Irish-Gaelic ancestry.

Good depth

Iona brings a 3-2 record into today's game after tournament losses to Florida State and Baylor. The Gaels are averaging 68.2 points in their five games while allowing 66.0 per game.

Alejo Rodriguez, a 6-foot-8 junior forward, is Iona's leading scorer with a 12.0 average. Scott Machado, the 2009 Metro Athletic Athletic Conference rookie of the year, is averaging 11.6 points and 5.0 assists.

“They have really good depth, and they played two really good ball teams down here and just came up short,'' Altman said. “They're going to play a lot of guys, they're going to change defenses on us and they'll press us a bit. We're going to have to be ready. It's not going to be easy by any means.''

Young limited

Creighton practiced about two hours at Disney's Milk House on Saturday. Guard Antoine Young, who missed the final 27 minutes of Friday's loss to Xavier after taking a shot to the lower abdomen in a scuffle for a loose ball, was able to participate on a limited basis.

Guard P'Allen Stinnett did not practice because of a bruised knee.

“I don't how they'll be tomorrow,'' Altman said, “so we'll just have to go with who we've got.''

Runnels has played the last two games at less than 100 percent because of back spasms. He said he felt better Saturday.

“They have me on some medication that's working,'' Runnels said. “I feel pretty good right now.''

Ashford is leader

Junior-college transfer Darryl Ashford leads the Bluejays with 61 points in five games, while Wragge has 57. Ashford's total is the third-most by a newcomer in Altman's 16 seasons at CU, while Wragge's total is the third-most by a freshman under Altman. Ryan Sears scored 63 points as a freshman in 1997-98, while Stinnett had 61 in 2007-08. ... Wragge's 15 3-point baskets are the most after five games since Kyle Korver started his senior season in 2002-03 by making 25 of 38 shots from beyond the arc.

— Steven Pivovar

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