McDermott faces his fourth game against alma mater UNI

Tomorrow night will be Greg McDermott's fourth game against his alma mater as Iowa State's head men's basketball coach.

Facing Northern Iowa and best bud Ben Jacobson remains an emotional tug-of-war.

“I don't know that it's ever easy,” said McDermott, who played at UNI in the mid- and late-1980s and later led the program to three straight NCAA tournaments and a 90-63 record from 2002-06. “There's a connection there that I'll have the rest of my life. And just like on the golf course, I want to beat (Jacobson's) tail every time I play him and Wednesday night will be no different. He feels the same about me.”

The rivalry game will take an even more dramatic turn starting in 2010 when McDermott's son, Doug, will be a Panther freshman.

From that perspective, tonight's game at Hilton Coliseum will be a breeze.

“This one will probably be easier than the next four,” McDermott said.

Any talk of discontinuing the series - as has been suggested by past ISU coaches - is a waste of time.

If UNI and Missouri Valley Conference partner Drake were competitively down and ISU wanted to schedule tougher, it might be a consideration.

The Panthers and Bulldogs each have made the NCAA tournament in the last three years. Iowa State has not been to the postseason since 2005.

“It's a positive for us to play them,” McDermott said. “When the programs are strong like they have been, it doesn't hurt our chances for postseason play, it enhances them.”

Northern Iowa (4-1) just missed upsetting Big Ten champion Purdue in last season's NCAA tournament.

They return every key player from a team that won both the regular season and conference tournament titles last year.

ISU (6-1) also has lost only one game this season, but has its hands full tonight.

“They have all the makings of another great season,” McDermott said. “Without question it's the best team we've played so far.”