AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – There’s a dorm room somewhere in Minneapolis that might be in line to become a Smithsonian exhibit. If the Indianapolis Colts win the Super Bowl and the Pistons this June grab the NBA title that many expected of them last June, Flip Saunders and Tony Dungy will almost surely be the only college roomies in history to simultaneously have coached two professional teams to championships among the four major sports.

“I called him this morning and left a message,” Saunders said after Pistons practice Monday afternoon. Friday’s game with Washington marks the halfway point of the Pistons’ season and Saunders is hoping the second half produces the same kind of results the NFL season did for Dungy’s Colts.

“You want to be playing your best near the end of the year,” he said. “If we can make progress and continue to improve and we’re playing our best near the end of the year, that’s all we want to do. Sometimes teams go through adversity and it helps. Look at the Indianapolis Colts. They’re a prime example. People were writing them off four weeks ago and now they’re in the Super Bowl.”

The Colts were threatening to put an undefeated season together in 2005 when things turned tragically on them. Dungy’s son, James, 18, committed suicide. A few weeks later, the Colts lost at home in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. A few months after that, the Pistons – despite a franchise-best 64 wins during the regular season – saw their season end in disappointment by losing to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals.

“Because of everything he’s gone through, it’s been an extremely difficult last 14 months,” Saunders said. “We talked this summer. Very similar situations. We both had unbelievable years – almost dream-type seasons – and then the disappointment of getting beat in the playoffs was something that was hard to swallow. So it’s nice to see him do what he did and, hopefully, we’ll follow in his footsteps.”

The midway point of the season is a convenient time for teams to analyze where they’ve been and where they’re headed, but it’s less meaningful for the Pistons this year than most. The addition of Chris Webber changes the look of the team drastically, so it’s almost like a new season began for them last week, with optimism running high as it typically does at the start a new season.

“We’re starting to play better with our new addition, Chris,” said Chauncey Billups, whose return to the lineup three games ago after missing the eight before that with a calf injury also has altered the mix for the Pistons. “We’re starting to get a little more comfortable. We’re able to open up the offense a little bit. He knows a lot of the plays. We’re playing better; we’re having a lot more fun. When you’re winning, you’re playing well and playing together and everybody’s having fun, that’s when you have success.

“We’ve had a lot of bad losses this year already, a lot of bad, bad losses. We can’t get ’em back. … But I just want to be playing our best ball when we get into April and be healthy.”

“You want to win every game you can, but at the same time you want to build up to the point where you’re playing your best basketball come playoff time,” said Lindsey Hunter, who just returned to the lineup last week after missing 18 games with an Achilles tendon injury. “Last year we had a great season, but at playoff time we were kind of flat. It just didn’t seem like we had it. I just look at what we’re doing now and how we’re building up and, defensively and offensively, how we’re executing, and we’re starting to get those things ironed out.”

Amir Johnson was back at practice with the Pistons on Monday after returning from the NBA Development League on Sunday. Johnson averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.2 blocked shots and 1.7 steals a game in helping Sioux Falls (S.D.) to a 5-1 record during his time there. Johnson had 20 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and two steals in his last game with the Skyforce.