The 10th-ranked Pitt Panthers (11-2) will have their final tune-up before they play Big East Conference games when they play host tonight to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference lightweight Florida A&M (6-6).

	Scouting Report Matchup: No. 10 Pitt (11-2) vs. Florida A&M (6-6), 8 p.m. today, Petersen Events Center. TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh; WWSW-FM (94.5) and WBGG-AM (970). Pitt: Is 72-6 at the Petersen Center, including a record of 45-1 against non-conference foes. ... Has won 66 of its past 67 home games vs. non-conference opponents. ... Coach Jamie Dixon is 27-2 in December games. ... Is coming off an 84-54 win against Dayton, the Panthers' largest margin of victory since it defeated Penn State, 91-54, last season. ... Center Aaron Gray is averaging 16.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. ... Defeated Delaware State, 67-50, earlier this season. Delaware State competes in the same conference -- the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference -- as Florida A&M. Florida A&M: Has six wins, but only three have come against Division I schools. It defeated non- Division I schools Warner Southern, Edward Waters College and Albany State (Georgia). ... Lost to Maryland, Miami of Ohio, Illinois, Bradley, Illinois-Chicago and Florida. ... Leading scorer is forward Rome Sanders, who averages 14.9 points per game. ... Forward Brian Greene leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game. Hidden Stat: The Panthers are 9-0 in games in which they have held a lead at the half.

The Panthers have played a tough non-conference schedule and it is one that Pitt coach Jamie Dixon hopes will prepare them for the road that lies ahead in what many consider to be Division I's best basketball conference.

"I don't know that playing tough games in December prepares you for the tournament any more than playing tough conference games in January and February," Dixon said. "But I think we've done a lot of good things and we've played a lot of tough games. We've gone on the road a lot more than most teams in our situation and that will hopefully pay off."

One other thing that certainly will pay big dividends for the Panthers as they move into January is this -- they are healthier than they have been in a number of weeks.

Pitt has had a number of players hampered by nagging injuries -- or in the case of Aaron Gray, strep throat -- but appear to be hitting their stride. Gray said he's healthy again and power forward Sam Young, who has struggled with tendinitis in his knee, is close to 100 percent again.

"I think with Sam, he has improved over the past two games just because he is starting to feel better physically," Dixon said.

"You can see him now. He's regained a lot of his athleticism. He is really exploding off the floor again. A big part of it, of how a guy plays, is how he feels and when Sam is healthy he has always made big strides and is consistently looking to improve himself."

Young and Gray said improved health has brought on improved confidence as well.

"I think as I start to feel better my confidence definitely gets higher," Young said. "It hurts to sit on the sideline and know you can't do the things you are capable of doing and thus you really can't help your teammates. But I needed to have some patience because rest really is what helps my leg and now I'm feeling better than I have in a long time."

As for the game tonight, the Rattlers don't figure to provide the Panthers with much of a test. They are undersized, which is tough when trying to match up with the size and strength of the Panthers.

Also, the Rattlers have struggled to score in some games. Florida A&M has been held to fewer than 58 points four times in nine games against Division I teams, including a season-low 33 in a 19-point loss to Miami.

Florida A&M shoots 42 percent from the floor-- 36 percent from 3-point range -- but does have a balanced offense as its four leading scorers average between 9.5 and 15 points per game.

Dixon said the Rattlers will play more zone than most Pitt opponents do and they also will press more as well. That's why he believes it won't be quite the cakewalk as it appears, especially if the Panthers fail to execute on offense.

Florida A&M, however, is not Dixon's main concern -- the Panthers are. He said the goal is to win, but he also believes there are a number of areas where he would like to see an improvement, considering conference play begins next week.

"I believe improvement is an ongoing process, it never really ends," Dixon said. "Our goal is to get better in a lot of areas, and we really just need to do some things a lot better than we have. I think a big area is we have a lot of new guys or rather some guys who are settling into new roles. I'd like to see our rebounding totals improve, I'd like to see the same improvement that we saw in our last game.

"Overall, I think we're playing pretty good, we just need to make sure we continue to work at getting better and play better than we did early in the season."