By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa coach Fran McCaffery used the words “iffy” and “hopeful” when asked about Cordell Pemsl’s availability for Saturday’s game against Drake.

Pemsl was then asked the same question a few minutes later on Tuesday and gave the following answer:

“I’d like to (play),” Pemsl said. “That’s a great team and it’s a good atmosphere to go back to Wells Fargo and play against an in-state team again. But if I don’t think I’m ready, then I won’t push it.

“We’re more worried about me getting kicked again or hitting it again and opening up the stitches and stuff. But I’m able to walk pretty fine now. I’ll be biking and running stairs today for practice. But we have a day off tomorrow, so I’ll see how it feels Thursday.”

Pemsl suffered a deep laceration on his right shin after crashing into a folding chair in the second half of Iowa’s 84-78 loss against Iowa State last Thursday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. The cut was so deep that Pemsl said he could see his tibia, and it required three layers of stitches to close the cut.

The 6-foot-8 sophomore forward missed Sunday’s 91-60 victory over Southern University at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Iowa will face Drake at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the first of two games in the Big Four Classic at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Iowa State and Northern Iowa will meet in the other game.

Iowa is 4-1 in games played in the Big Four Classic, including 2-0 against Drake.

A video of Pemsl crashing into the stands went viral on social media as it showed what appeared to be an Iowa State fan push him on the ground.

Pemsl said Tuesday that he has received feedback from Iowa State fans, some of whom wished him a quick recovery, while others defended the person accused of pushing him.

“People have their own opinions,” Pemsl said. “Whether he pushed me or not, it’s not that big of a deal.”

Pemsl feels fortunate to have avoided a serious injury and that his knees weren’t involved. The former Dubuque Wahlert star struggled with knee injuries in high school.

“It’s not as bad walking or sleeping or stuff like that,” Pemsl said. “But to the touch, it’s still pretty painful and it’ll throb every once in a while. I’m still taking my anti-biotic and pain meds and stuff.”

Pemsl scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 17 minutes of playing time against Iowa State.

Iowa holds a commanding 58-10 advantage in the series with Drake and has won 32 of the last 35 meetings.

However, the Bulldogs nearly pulled off a huge upset at Minnesota on Monday, losing 68-67 in a game in which Drake made 12 3-point shots.

“They've got a lot of guys making threes, a lot of guys making plays,” Fran McCaffery said of Drake. “They play small, but it doesn't seem to affect them on the glass like you think it would.

“They're in there battling. I've been impressed. So what happened last night was not a shock to me.”

Connor McCaffery update: Fran McCaffery didn’t rule out the possibility that his son, freshman guard Connor McCaffery, still might be redshirted this season.

The 6-5 Connor McCaffery made his season-debut against Southern on Sunday after missing the first 10 regular-season games because of mononucleosis.

“It's not my call, your call or anybody else's call, it's what the doctor's deem,” Fran McCaffery said. “They're monitoring his physical process that he's going through.”

Fran McCaffery said by rule Connor could appear in 10 games in the first half of the season and still be eligible for a redshirt.

“He can play in ten,” Fran McCaffery said. “Has to be in the first half of the year. Really, he's not anywhere near physically where he needs to be.

Connor McCaffery had originally planned to redshirt in basketball in order to focus on his freshman season with the Iowa baseball team. But that plan changed when former backup point guard Christian Williams announced in late October that he would transfer from Iowa after the first semester.

Connor McCaffery then decided to play basketball as a freshman, but that was before he injured his ankle in practice and was diagnosed with mono.