Laughter engulfed the PetersenEventsCenter during Midnight Madness on Friday night, when… Laughter engulfed the PetersenEventsCenter during Midnight Madness on Friday night, when Carl Krauser hit a layup in the 10-minute exhibition game.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Krauser controlled a rebound under the basket, and threw the ball under his leg, around his back, and casually put the ball in for two points to the delight of the crowd.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘This is really [an event] for the kids and for the fans,’ head coach Jamie Dixon said.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ During the 10 minutes of exhibition play between the Gold and Blue teams, Panther fans saw the type of plays that one would expect to see on the blacktop courts of New York.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers tried several alley-oops and other standout plays to excite the fans. It is an event made for the fans, in an attempt to get them excited for the upcoming season, and the Panthers did just that.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The exhibition game had highlights that electrified the crowd, especially when the new faces got into the game. Freshmen forwards Dante Milligan and Ed Turner both hit three pointers and Milligan later won the three-point contest, hitting five buckets.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Chevon Troutman was the standout in the slam dunk contest, in which he threw the ball up, took off his jersey, grabbed the ball on the bounce, and dunked it. Even though Troutman’s one dunk stood out, forward Mark McCarroll won the contest outright with three solid dunks.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s basically just a fun event,’ Jaron Brown said. ‘We get serious tomorrow.’

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The new-look Panthers had not held a practice before the events on Friday. Their first practice of the season was on Saturday, where they started scheming for the upcoming season.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers are looking at a lot of new faces at several positions on the court, but they are hoping for the same results. Dixon said that they would adjust schematically to the strengths of their players.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dixon is confident that Pitt will continue its status as a top-ranked program in the country, and he has the challenging schedule to prove it. Dixon said this year’s schedule is the toughest schedule they’ve had in his five years at Pitt.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The Panthers will play three non-conference teams whose basketball programs have been among the best. Two of those teams, Florida State and Georgia, will come to Pitt to play late in December.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The third is Alabama, whom they will play in the very first game of the season in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The game will be played at MadisonSquareGarden, where Dixon says they like to play. That is why they could not turn down the opportunity to open the season there against a very good opponent.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dixon also highlighted several key Big East games that they have on the schedule, such as Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Connecticut, all of whom the Panthers will play twice.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Our guys are ready for the challenge,’ Dixon said.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dixon feels confident that Pitt can continue its success at home. Pitt is 16-0 when playing at the Pete.

‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘We’ve got the best home court in the Big East, and probably in the country,’ Dixon said.