If you’re like me, a nut for college basketball, you don’t take cheering lightly; it’s serious work. If you’re looking for some inspiration to be the best fan you can be, I’m offering advanced BU Zoo techniques in the final installment.

Dress appropriately.

There’s nothing fearsome about a guy in a white polo shirt and a backward Yankees hat. Seriously, leave the polo and the frat sweatshirt at home. Get yourself a BU Zoo shirt or Binghamton jersey, or better yet, don’t. Paint your body green and white. At the very least, paint your face once in a while. The Junior Bearcat face painters will usually help you out with this one. Don’t stop there. A student last year creatively ripped his Zoo shirt with Bearcat claw marks and topped it off with a green basketball face. Another one of the better outfits was the black turtleneck and blazer a student wore in tribute to head coach Al Walker. Find a way to stand out at the games and you may get a mention in Pipe Dream too.

Go to the games.

The home schedule this year is terrible. Students will be on break for the home games against Cornell, Long Island University, UMBC, Albany and Boston University. Binghamton got the short end of the stick when it comes to America East scheduling this year, but there are a few games that fans should make sure they see:

Monday, Nov. 27 at Colgate

Colgate’s not too far from BU, so fans shouldn’t have a problem making this trip. The BU Zoo is organizing a trip for this so join up.

Thursday, Jan. 18 vs. New Hampshire

Sunday, Jan. 21 vs. Vermont

Classes start Monday, Jan. 22, but the residence halls will open the morning of Jan. 18. Come up to school a few days early and try to make it to the New Hampshire game. At the very least, make sure you see the Vermont game. Binghamton and the Catamounts have a huge rivalry and the game promises to be one of the best of the year after the Bearcats got eliminated by UVM in last year’s semifinals.

Friday, March 2, and Saturday, March 3, America East conference tournament at Boston University

We’re not hosting the conference this year, but that’s no reason not to go see the tournament. Find a friend in Boston — everyone has a friend at Boston University, Bentley, Northeastern, Harvard, Tufts or MIT. Sleep on your buddy’s couch for a weekend, party in Boston and go see Binghamton try to earn its first NCAA berth.

Scout out the competition.

Students at Cal Berkeley orchestrated one of the greatest basketball pranks of all time last year. In the weeks before an important game against conference rival USC, they chatted online with Trojan point guard Gabe Pruitt, pretending to be a coed named “Victoria,” who wanted to see him after the game. Pruitt ate it up and allegedly wrote back, “I want to c u so bad,” and gave Victoria his cell phone number.

When Pruitt went to the line for his first free throw shot of the game, Cal fans began chanting “Victoria!” and his phone number. The poor guy, in complete shock, missed his free throws and shot 3 for 13 that night. Cal won, 71-60.

Binghamton fans don’t have to go to such extremes to get into a player’s head (though it’s not discouraged). Use Google or Facebook to find out a little background information about the players coming into the Events Center. Let them know you’ve discovered their embarrassing secrets.

Take, for example, Boston University guard Matt Wolff. His name might sound familiar, because his father is Terrier head coach Dennis Wolff. You may have heard of his sister, too. Nicole Wolff was a McDonalds All-American and starter for UConn’s powerhouse women’s team. When Boston University visited Vermont last year, some Catamount fans chanted, “Nicole is better” and Wolff was absolutely furious. Matt Wolff, that is.

Find out what makes the opposition tick, and exploit it. Call the short guy a midget. Call the tall guy a freak. Do whatever it takes, but don’t be completely tactless. Last year in the conference tournament, Albany fans called UMBC’s John Zito a rapist, a charge that was completely fabricated. Those fans crossed the line and were ejected from the game. It’s important for fans to know the limit.

You can’t take the shots or call the plays for Binghamton, but an excellent student section can sometimes affect the game as much as any person on the court.

Midterms are over, so shift your studying to our fan guide. I’ll see you in the Zoo.