The two coaches met at mid-court for the traditional postgame handshake, but as the final seconds ticked off Michigan State’s 78-67 victory over Rutgers, it was clear from the start that this conversation was going to take more time than usual and be one-sided.

Tom Izzo had a lot to say.

He started by telling his counterpart, Steve Pikiell, that he knows he wished his team had played better. The Scarlet Knights thrilled their fans with a spirited first-half performance despite foul trouble, then reminded them that this building process is is still in its infancy when they ran out of gas after intermission. But that didn’t leave the long-time Spartans coach any less impressed.

The improved roster. The jacked-up RAC. Izzo was a Pikiell fan before he walked into the building on Friday night, and could have run for president of his fan club when the game ended.

“Look what you’ve done to this place,” Izzo said he told the third-year Rutgers coach as the final seconds ticked off the clock. " 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."

None taken.

“I just told him to hang in there and that his program is on the rise,” Izzo said. “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."

Izzo spent most of his post-game press conference heaping praise on what Pikiell has accomplished in his short time in Piscataway, and if that sounds familiar, it should. Three years ago, the way Izzo praised a soon-to-be-fired Eddie Jordan, you would have thought that Rutgers had a combination of John Wooden, James Naismith and Coach K on its bench and not a guy with a 3-35 Big Ten record.

“I really think Eddie can turn this program around,” Izzo said that day. Maybe he meant it. More likely, the dean of Big Ten coaches was trying to throw Jordan a lifeline as the sharks were circling. He has done this long enough to he know his words carry weight.

I poked fun of him then but I believe him now. Izzo recognizes that having two games each year against a league foe with an astronomical RPI was bad for his program and for the league as a whole. He can also see that the talent on this roster, even on a night when it didn’t perform up to its potential, will lead to a few surprises this season.

How many? If the Scarlet Knights can beat a good Miami team on the road, as they did on Wednesday, then stay competitive against the Big Ten favorites when they were clearly out of gas, the answer is more than most would have expected when the season began a few weeks ago.

There will be nights when leaders Geo Baker and Eugene Omoruyi are both playing well, and when newcomer Peter Kiss is hitting 3-pointers, and when a couple of the promising freshman are making contributions that the Scarlet Knights will surprise better opponents.

They were 3-15 in the Big Ten a year ago. They have the potential to double that win total. Izzo was asked the impact a good Rutgers team, with the much ballyhooed New York market, would have on a conference that hasn’t gotten much more than cable boxes from its East Coast push so far.

"I think it would 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. “I watched them play Miami. They’re a team that’s got to learn how to win. This place is starting to come together as they get facilities now, and they got the right guy (as head coach), I can tell you that.”

Again: Izzo has heaped praise on a Rutgers coach before. But this time, there was nothing phony about that long conversation at mid-court as the second ticked off the game. Izzo believes he witnessed a college basketball program on the rise. He’s not alone.

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.