Myron Hosea

Special to The Greenville News

If there are people out there still waiting to know if Furman’s men’s basketball team is for real, the game at Louisiana State on Friday night isn’t about helping them make a decision.

“If they don’t see it yet, I don’t know if we’ll change their minds,” senior forward Matt Rafferty said.

Furman’s 12-0 start that has landed the team in the national rankings includes road wins against defending NCAA champion Villanova and Final Four participant Loyola of Chicago.

The Paladins are ranked in both of the major national polls – No. 24 in The Associated Press Top 25 and No. 25 in the USA TODAY coaches oll.

“It’s another great opportunity for us, of course,” Rafferty said of the LSU game.

LSU is 8-3 and coached by Clemson alum and former Chattanooga and VCU coach Will Wade. The Tigers are 6-0 at home and average 81 points per game. They defeated another SoCon title challenger – UNC Greensboro – 97-91 at home on Nov. 9.

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“LSU is really, really good,” Furman coach Bob Richey said. “They’re really athletic. I’ve known Will for a long time. He’s a phenomenal basketball coach. His team’s going to play really, really hard. They’re going to get out, and they’re athletic, they’re long. It’s going to be a great challenge.”

After Saturday’s 93-50 dismantling of UNC Wilmington at home, Rafferty pointed out that the team had some other work to do before LSU.

“I think we’re all excited,” he said. “We know our potential and what we can do. Compete with the biggest teams out there. We’ve got finals coming up this week. That’s what we’ve first got to focus on. Soon after that, there will be preparation for LSU.”

Still, Friday’s game against the Southeastern Conference team is more important than most people expected it to be at the beginning of the season. That won’t change what Furman does to get ready.

“It’s a big one,” Richey said. “Every next game’s a big one. Our prep won’t be any different. I won’t call myself superstitious. I’m routine-driven. We kind of do the same routine every time we play a game.

“In life, most of the time, when you get big opportunities, it still comes back to the same fundamentals. There’s not going to be anything that we’ve got to go do different than we’ve done to go play our best.”

The Paladins have shown an ability to maintain focus while this streak produces a significant amount of national attention. Focus will be crucial Friday.

“We’ve got to keep it about the substance,” Richey said. “The worst thing we can do is get caught up in the hype. We’ve got to keep our composure. We’ve got to be cool. We’ve got to be collected. And we’ve got to make sure that we focus on the substance and leave the hype to what it is and get our blinders on. Focus on our game plan. And just go out there and try to play the best we can.”

• Rafferty was selected the Southern Conference Player of the Week after combining for 27 points and 25 rebounds in victories against UNC Wilmington and Charleston Southern. He also totaled 13 assists, five blocked shots and eight steals.