Tom Izzo has been around the block a time or two. He’s seen a thing or two. He knows good basketball when he sees it. The Hall of Fame head coach of the Michigan State Spartans started his 24th Big Ten conference campaign on Friday at the Rutgers Athletic Center. He and his team left with a 78-67 win over Rutgers, one that was not gifted but earned after the Scarlet Knights kept up punch for punch with the ninth-ranked Spartans.

What he saw on the other end was a good basketball team.

“Put it this way, this was a big win for us,” Izzo said. “Coming on the road, under the circumstances we’ve been under, and playing against a good quality, tough team. I consider this not a ‘win, get out of here.’ I consider this we beat a good team and a good program in a tough place to play.”

It was, to a smaller extent, another edition of what transpired twice in 2017 — Steve Pikiell’s Scarlet Knights put up a fight against Izzo’s Spartans. Last season, Michigan State needed overtime to beat Rutgers in East Lansing and, much like Friday night, survived a dog fight in Piscataway.

It’s important to remember that Rutgers lost Friday’s night contest, as it did all games against the Spartans in Pikiell’s tenure. In fact, the Scarlet Knights lost by double-digits and by the final 10 minutes, were gassed and completely overmatched. Rutgers is not yet to the point where it can upset one of the top teams in the nation, much less 48 hours removed from its biggest road win in years.

But it’s also important to note that in March of 2016 — three weeks before Pikiell was hired as the successor to Eddie Jordan — Rutgers lost 97-66 at home to Michigan State in front of an announced crowd of 5,561, of which 2,000 were wearing green and white. The score was close at the half — 43-41 in favor of the Spartans — but the thought of the Scarlet Knights upsetting the No. 3 Spartans was almost impossible to fathom.

Needless to say, things are different under Pikiell.

While the Scarlet Knights have yet to pull off the upset over the Spartans, each time they came close, the possibility of it happening was plausible. If it wasn’t, 8,000 people would not have made their way to the RAC on Friday night and stayed through the end.

That’s a testament to what Pikiell did in two-and-a-half years.

“I’ve been a Steve Pikiell fan since the day he came into the league,” he said. “I know I’m not supposed to be a cheerleader for him but I really appreciate where this program is going. It’s good for the Big Ten, it’s good for us. The fans tonight were awesome. He’s building something.”

Izzo said as much to Pikiell in a postgame handshake which lasted much longer than the typical ‘good game’ exchanged after most contests.

“I (told Pikiell), ‘I know you’re disappointed and you didn’t play as good as I thought you played the other night, to be very honest with you, I know you had a great start. But look what you’ve done to this place,’” Izzo said. “I came here when it was just you guys (the media) and who the hell wants the media to watch a game, no insult intended. You had a damn good crowd, there was kind of a buzz even around the hotel.

“I just told him to hang in there and his program is on the rise. It’s not looking to be good down the road. They’re going to win some games here and I think they’re going to win some games on the road because he reminds me of some of my teams I had early in my career. Tougher than nails, looks like a bunch of football players that can play. Personally, I love that and I think that helps you win on the road some, too.”

There is a lot more basketball to play. Until Rutgers proves it can finish anywhere but last in the Big Ten, these tight losses to quality opposition will mean little to those outside the fanbase. At the end of the day, results matter above all.

From Izzo’s perspective, Pikiell and the Scarlet Knights are not far from achieving that goal and digging out of the basement in the Big Ten. He just hopes the climb happens after he’s gone.

“I think it’d be great, and if it happens four or five years from now when I get the hell out of this job, it would be even better,” Izzo said. “They’re not a bottom (of the Big Ten) team. I watched them play Miami ... This guy here is a hell of a coach and a class person, so I think they’re definitely on the way up. I really appreciated the way their fans got on me a little bit and then at the end were great about it. This place is starting to come as they get facilities now and they got the right guy, I could tell you that.”