The basketball team traveled to Indianapolis to cheer on the football team in the Big Ten Championship Game, and some of the football team, led by “Yes man” Travis Jackson pumped up the Breslin Center crowd in the Big Ten home opener.

Izzo said many times that he dreams of the day when the football and basketball teams will both win national championships, and that dream seemingly is getting closer to a reality if the results continue as they currently are.

The fact that MSU has not lost a Big Ten game in football and men’s basketball in the 2013-14 academic year, and that conference power Ohio State hasn’t gotten a win in either sport since facing off against MSU reinforces that right now is a good time to be a Spartan.

But that doesn’t mean the term “just like football” doesn’t apply to the entire season on the court, and not just after wins against the Buckeyes.

The comparisons begin before last season even ended.

Both had somewhat disappointing seasons after the football team finished the regular season 6-6 in 2012, and the basketball team finished 24-7 with three losses in their last five games.

And both had some success in the postseason that increased the pressure on each team the following season.

The football team got out to an interesting start in 2013, with a few lackluster performances and a quarterback controversy, while the basketball team had to deal with a plethora of injuries.

Connor Cook eventually settled in under center and got into an unprecedented grove, while the basketball team trudged through their schedule with nine different lineups in 14 games to get off to the best start in program history.

Perhaps the biggest thing the two have in common is an early loss that righted the ship and got both on the right path.

Before the Notre Dame game, there was no confidence in the football team, and the general thought was that a bowl game, especially the Rose Bowl, was a far-fetched fantasy.

Then they lost to the Fighting Irish not because they weren’t up to the challenge, but because of just a few plays. They went to Iowa and ran all over the Hawkeyes in the game that Dantonio said turned the season around.

On the hardwood, that game was against North Carolina, when the Spartans lost 79-65 and didn’t look like the team they were expected to be.

Junior forward Branden Dawson was a letdown, and Izzo challenged him to bring energy to practice everyday to break his habit, and aside from an off performance against Ohio State, he’s been a positive for MSU since the loss.

We all know how the season ended for the football team, and even what happened to East Lansing once a trip to Pasadena was guaranteed.

We’ll just have to wait and see if couches and cars are casualties again come April.

Zach Smith is a State News men’s basketball reporter. Reach him at zsmith@statenews.com.