The last two years (and the only two) I’ve been at OU as a student I’ve purchased OU men’s basketball season tickets, and I’ve tried to go to as many men’s and women’s games as possible. I’ve done so because I enjoy basketball a lot, and I enjoy supporting OU.

This year is turning out to be something really special for Sooner basketball, which leads me into my first reason you should consider going to as many basketball games as possible.

Both men’s and women’s teams are ranked better than No. 15 nationally.

The men’s team is ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 14 in the USA Today poll, while the women’s squad is sitting at No. 4 in their AP poll and No. 7 in the USA Today poll.

Those are purely outrageous figures. Only four other schools can boast that both of their basketball teams are in the top 15. Those four teams would be North Carolina, Duke, Tennessee and Louisville.

Okay, so Louisville and Tennessee are probably not the first choices that came to mind, but the Tarheels and the Blue Devils have been gracing the higher echelons of college basketball for a long time.

That proves to me that this year is going to be different: If there was a year you wanted to buy basketball tickets, this should be it.

This is your last chance to see some star athletes, before they go professional.

Lets start with seniors Ashley and Courtney Paris. Ashley’s statistics are really outstanding. For her career she has averaged 8.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 0.82 blocks per game. Those are phenomenal numbers, especially when she shares time with her sister.

Courtney’s numbers are even crazier. She has put up 21.4 points, 15.3 rebounds and 3.38 blocks per game. Courtney has rewrote countless records and still has one more season to add to her impressive stat line.

On the men’s side of the court, senior forward Taylor Griffin will be graduating this year; and his brother, sophomore forward Blake Griffin may declare for the NBA draft at the conclusion of this season, although it is not confirmed.

Taylor has scored 5.5 points and hauled in 4.4 rebounds per game. His brother, Blake, has averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds in his two season of play.

You would not want to miss out on Taylor or Blake’s amazing play in their last year, and with OU nationally ranked, this year is the year to come out and partake in the excitement.

For those of you who were lucky enough to be in the stands when Adrian Peterson broke onto the scene, you may want to check out the Paris sisters and the Griffin brothers on the court.

Basketball is just as important as football.

Yes, I did go there. The games are only about two hours long, including halftime and they give out free T-shirts. The OU women play UC Riverside at 2 p.m on Saturday and the OU men play American at 7 p.m. on Friday. Both games are in Norman. It’s basketball time.

— Kyle Burnett is a broadcast and electronic media junior.