Recruiting high school basketball players is the lifeblood of the Butler men’s basketball team. Coach Brad Stevens and his staff recruit players who can help extend the team’s success.

Next season’s recruiting class includes four players.

Shooting guard Rene Castro and power forwards Nolan Berry and Andrew Chrabascz have signed their letters of intent to attend Butler and play basketball for the 2013-14 academic year.

Shooting guard Elijah Brown has verbally committed to Butler but has not signed his letter of intent.

Stevens and his staff have certain criteria recruits need to meet.

“There is a minimal level of basketball talent ability that they obviously have to have to be considered,” Stevens said. “Those abilities and what you are looking for can sometimes vary by position.”

Stevens said it is not all about trying to recruit the highest-ranked talent.

“The best team I have ever coached maybe had one guy who was included in one top-100 list,” Stevens said. “I don’t think it means a lot what people say about you in high school. I think it is how you perform once you are out of high school.”

Assistant coach Michael Lewis said recruits also need to have certain characteristics that not only fit the team’s expectations on the court, but also in the classroom.

“We look at what kind of student they are,” Lewis said, “and really look at how they achieve. We like high achievers.”

Additionally Butler basketball is always looking for recruits who can fill in the team’s needs.

“As we finish the year, we are evaluating from a standpoint of who we know we have coming in and what we have currently on our roster,” Lewis said. “That’s how we move forward on our spring recruiting and into the summer.”

Compared to the recruiting classes of 2011 and 2012, all the players in this year’s class who have signed or verbally committed have attended high schools outside Indiana.

The players in the 2013 recruiting class come from a number of different U.S. regions.

Castro and Chrabascz come from the Northeast. Castro is from  Milton, Mass., and went to Worcester Academy. Chrabascz is from Portsmouth, R.I., and attended Cushing Academy.

Berry comes from the Midwest, born in St. Louis. He attended De Smet Jesuit High School.

Brown comes from the West Coast. Born in Sanata Ana, Calif., he attended Mater Dei High School.

“Obviously, this university and especially its basketball program have changed quite a bit in the last 10 years,” Lewis said. “With the success of the basketball program and the notoriety that is on a national and an even global level, our recruiting has expanded compared to what it was 10 years ago.”

Although the team may recruit in different regions, both Stevens and Lewis said it is important to recruit high school players from Indiana because there are some very skilled players in Butler’s backyard.

“The state of Indiana is a great state to recruit from,” Stevens said. “There are a lot of schools down here.”

To keep players in Indiana, Butler must find ways to entice Indiana high school players. Both Stevens and Lewis said Butler’s tradition is one way to do this.

The Hinkle Fieldhouse renovations could also be another way to attract  high school recruits.

“We are in the middle of a major renovation of an 85-year-old building,” Lewis said. “This is a great facility, but the university is making a commitment to improve the whole experience and doing a lot for the student-athlete.”

Stevens said Butler’s moves to new conferences can be a tool used to recruit players in different regions.

“Certainly with our move to the Atlantic 10 last year and the Big East this year, there are increased chances to be able to get in the doors,” Stevens said.

Even with the change in conferences, Butler basketball will try not to change the way it recruits.

“We don’t want to get away from the type of person we recruit here,” Lewis said. “Because those are the guys who have been successful.”

Butler used its traditional opponent-stifling defense to propel itself to the next round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament with a 68-56 win over Bucknell.

It was the defensive-minded Butler basketball that the nation was introduced to during the Final Four run in 2010.  It was the kind of basketball where you can only score 21 points in the first half and still win.

It was the kind of Butler basketball where you can go from having a double-digit lead to being down by six and still win.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

“They have some mettle, they have some intestinal fortitude that is built up over time, but also a core part of our program,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “But it is truly a Butler team, which I feel really good about.”

The Bulldogs took a 21-14 lead into the locker room at half-time.

They were only shooting 32 percent and had yet to make a 3-point field goal.  But, they had held Bucknell to a mere 25.9 percent shooting from the field and Naismith Player of the Year finalist, senior center Mike Muscala to only two points.

“It may not have been esthetic the entire game, you know missing our first 13 3’s,” Stevens said. “But our defense was really good in the first half. “

The team’s defense let up for about ten minutes at the beginning of the second half, when Bucknell went on a 19-2 run led by senior Joe Willman and Muscala.

Butler went over three minutes without scoring a basket and the Bison extended its lead.

“We knew they were going to make a run,” senior center Andrew Smith said. “We were prepared for something like that and fortunately were able to fight back.”

Stevens called a timeout after Willman scored a jumper to give Bucknell it s largest lead at six points.

Coming out of the timeout freshman guard Kellen Dunham sunk two free-throws to break the dry spell, but it was the seniors who really got Butler going.

Smith hit the first Butler 3-pointer of the game two possessions later, followed by a steal by Marshall to Clark for his first three of the game.

It was the start of a Butler 22-5 run.

“I told them in the locker room there’s a lot of teams in this tournament that wouldn’t be able to withstand a 16-point swing,” Stevens said. “And then have a 16-point swing of their own.”

Butler built its lead to 12, the largest of the game for either team and cruised to the win with 12 made free throws at the end.

Clarke led Butler with 17 points, followed by sophomore Roosevelt Jones and Smith both with 14. Smith finished the game with a double-double by adding a career-high 16 rebounds.

He also set a Butler record for rebounds in a NCAA Tournament game.

Sophomore Alex Barlow set a career-high with 10 points and added five rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot.

“Barlow was dialed into a different level than pretty much any other guy we had on our team the last couple of days,” Steven said. “With his study, getting into the film room, with his ability to read actions.

Bucknell’s Willman finished the day with a career-high 20 points and six rebounds in his last collegiate game.

Butler held Muscala to nine points, tying a career-low.

Butler will play Marquette on Saturday. Butler beat the Golden Eagles back in Novemeber during the Maui Invitational on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Clarke.

The time has not yet been announced.

See photos from the game here.

This year’s team:

• 26-8 overall record
• 6^th NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament in seven years and the 11^th in 17 years.
• 18-18 overall NCAA tournament record.
• No. 6 seed was the third highest in Butler history. The only higher ones were No. 5 seeds in 2007 and 2010.
• Has never lost to a lower seed in the tournament.
• There are three players on the Butler roster that have played in a national championship game: Andrew Smith, Chase Stigall and Khyle Marshall
• Was 4-0 against RPI Top 20 teams and 6-6 against RPI Top 50 teams.
• Had zero losses outside of the RPI Top 100
• Has had nine different players start this season
• Two Geico Player of the Year finalists in Alex Barlow with his shot against Indiana and Roosevelt Jones’ game winner against Gonzaga
• The top three wins by Butler this season against Indiana, Gonzaga and Marquette were decided by a combined four points
• As a team averages: 69.3 points, 34.8 percent 3-point shooting, 68.9 percent free throw shooting, 36.6 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 13.4 turnovers, 5.7 steals and 2.4 blocks per game
• As a team allows: 63.8 points, 41.8 percent opponent field goal shooting and 33.3 percent 3-point field goal shooting per game.

Brad Stevens:

• Has an 11-4 NCAA tournament record as head coach
• Butler has had six Top 10 wins with Stevens as coach
• Has moved into the top spot on the NCAA Division I list for best career coaching starts by wins in six seasons, with a record of 165-48. He hold the NCAA three, four and five-year record.

Rotnei Clarke

• Butler is 10-1 when Clarke scores 20 or more points per game
• He leads the team averaging 16.7 points per game
• Has scored 518 points this season
• He is first on the team in free-throw shooting, with an average of 88.6 percent
• Is third in Butler history for single-season 3-point field goals with 108
• Has scored in double-figures in all but five games he’s played in this season
• He missed three games after suffering a severe neck sprain at Dayton in January.
• Is a member of the Atlantic 10 First Team All-Conference
• Scored a season-high 27 points in the loss to Illinois during the championship game of the Maui Invitational.

Andrew Smith

• He is the only player in the country to have played in two national championship games
• Is Butler’s second-leading scorer averaging 11.1 points per game
• He and Roosevelt Jones lead the team in rebounding averaging 5.7 rebounds per game
• Smith is a finalist of the Lowes Senior Class Award, was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team and is an Academic All-American

Roosevelt Jones

• Jones is the only Butler player to start in all 34 games this season.
• He is one of three Butler players averaging in double-figure scoring with 10.1 points per game
• He averages 30.4 minutes per game, second-most on the team.
• He leads the team in assists with 3.5 per game
• Jones is a member of the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team

Khyle Marshall

• Butler is 15-1 when Marshall scores in double-figures
• He averages 9.9 points per game
• Shooting 56.4 percent from the field, he is second on the team in field goal percentage
• Marshall averages 4.7 rebounds per game

Kellan Dunham

• Made the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie team
• He averages 9.9 points per game
• He shoots 38.2 percent from the field and 87.1 percent from the free throw line

Kameron Woods

• Has scored in double figures four times this season, three coming in the last five games. Butler has won all four of those games
• He leads the team in field goal shooting percentage with 56.9 percent
• Woods is averaging 4.8 rebounds and 4.6 points per game

Alex Barlow

• Has started 21 games this season for the Bulldogs.  The team is 17-4 in those games and 8-3 when he comes in off the bench
• Averages 43.1 percent field goal shooting
• Has 66 assists this season, averaging two per game
• He has the best assist to turnover ratio on the team with 1.7

Erik Fromm

• Averages 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game
• He had a season-high 13 points in the loss at Charlotte

Chase Stigall

• Stigall is a 77.8 percent free-throw shooter
• He averages 10.6 minutes, most of the time coming off the bench. He has started in three games for the Bulldogs this season
• Stigall has a season-high 12 points in the 77-58 win at St. Bonaventure

The Butler men’s basketball team hosts Charlotte tonight at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The game will tip off at 7 p.m.

Senior center Andrew Smith will miss tonight’s and Saturday’s game at Fordham after sustaining an abdominal injury in Saturday’s win against George Washington.

He  alerted the team’s training staff of discomfort and received medical treatment after the game.

Smith will be re-evaluated next week.

The 49ers are 17-6 overall and are tied for seventh in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings with a record of 5-4.

Charlotte lost to A-10 co-leader Virginia Commonwealth at home last Saturday 68-61.

The team has not qualified for the NCAA tournament since the 2004-05 season, the season before it entered the A-10.

Charlotte finished 11th in the A-10 last season, going 13-17 overall and 5-11 in conference play.

The program has experienced a resurgence this year after going 12-2 in nonconference play to begin the season.

Three of the 49ers’ best wins have come at home, picking up victories against La Salle, Xavier and Massachusetts.

Butler is coming off a 59-56 win at George Washington last Saturday.

Senior guard Rotnei Clarke led the Bulldogs with 14 points, while junior forward Khyle Marshall grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.

Cleveland State coach Gary Waters said his team needed an act of God to help it win in Hinkle Fieldhouse.

The Vikings entered Friday’s Horizon League showdown just 2-17 all-time on the home floor of Butler’s men’s basketball team.

Waters got what he wanted.

Behind 18 points from senior point guard Jeremy Montgomery, Cleveland State used strong defense and rebounding to hold off a late Bulldogs rally.

Cleveland State won 76-69.

The Vikings (15-3, 5-1) won for the 10^th time in their last 12 games.  Using four seniors in the starting lineup, Cleveland State knocked off a younger version of the Bulldogs, who had won five straight in the series.

“They’re very old,” Butler coach Brad Stevens said. “That maturity played out well.”

Butler (9-9, 3-3) lost its second consecutive game, still struggling to find answers with a new-look roster.

“You don’t have Matt Howard, it’s a whole different ballgame,” Waters said, referring to the former Butler star who graduated last May.

Junior center Andrew Smith scored 13 points for the Bulldogs, with senior point guard Ronald Nored and junior guard Chase Stigall each contributing 12.

A season-long ailment, foul shooting, troubled Butler once again.  The Bulldogs missed 17 free throws despite attempting a season-high 42.  They entered the night ranked 325^th in free-throw percentage (60.8) out of 344 Division I teams.

“Everybody’s talking to them about it,” Stevens said. “You’ve got to dig deep, take a deep breath. It’s just you and the basket.”

Butler trailed 64-54 with 4:31 remaining.  The closest the Bulldogs came to evening the score was a banked-in 3 by Nored that made it 72-69 with 20 seconds to go.

Senior guard Trevon Harmon, who finished with 12 points, subsequently connected on two foul shots to give the Vikings a five-point lead and put the game out of reach.

Butler struggled from the field (40.5 percent), was outrebounded 31-24 and was outscored 28-12 in the paint.

“They physically outdid us inside the 3-point line,” Stevens said.

The Vikings put Butler in a big hole early. Freshman forward Anton Grady’s putback gave Cleveland State a 20-4 lead with just more than seven minutes gone by in the first half.

The Bulldogs gradually fought back by hitting six 3’s. Smith nailed the last of those, a shot from the top of the key to bring Butler within 35-33 at halftime.

Much of the Bulldogs’ early offense centered upon jump shots, perhaps a result of Waters’ defensive plan to stop Smith in the post.

“We were swarming that basketball, making them kick it out,” Waters said.

Cleveland State played a physical brand of defense.  The Vikings were whistled for 15 fouls in the first half, then committed nine more fouls in the first nine minutes of the second.

Peeved at the disparity, however, Waters yelled at an official standing at his side, earning a technical foul.

“Those guys will try to punch and fight and scratch,” Montgomery said. “We wanted to punch back.”

Butler felt the brunt of two fouls labeled Flagrant 1’s.  The second was particularly rough and sent sophomore forward Kyle Marshall sprawling to the floor with 7:04 to play after a midair collision with Harmon.

Stevens started Marshall for the first time since Nov. 23. Marshall added 11 points and blocked two shots.

The Vikings frequently made use of the dribble in this one, driving past Butler’s defenders to shoot 48.1 percent.

Cleveland State’s bigs did much of the damage.  Junior forward Tim Kamczyc had 17 points, senior center Aaron Pogue had eight, and Grady finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.

But it was Montgomery who carried the day, scoring 16 points after halftime.

“We did a great job in the first half,” Nored said. “If you let your guard down for just a second, he’s that kind of player.”

Butler recovered from a 16-point deficit to lead 41-40 with 16:27 to play.  The Bulldogs lost that lead on the next possession and trailed the rest of the way as Montgomery got hot.

“We’ve got to play better,” Nored said. “We have to start [games] better. It’s obvious how good this league is.”

One positive for the Bulldogs was their improved ball movement.  Butler assisted on 14 of its 17 field goals, including a pretty lob from sophomore guard Chrishawn Hopkins to Marshall for a soaring dunk.

But another loss, coupled with the sounds of a red-hot Cleveland State team joyously shouting through the hallways of Hinkle, have left doubt as to whether Butler can win the league tournament for a third consecutive season.

“That was an unbelievable two years,” Waters said. “The intensity and how hard [the 2011-’12 team] played [Friday] was similar. Brad’s going to get them going, no question in my mind.”

Butler next plays Sunday at home against Youngstown State.  Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.

For five Butler football senior defenders, the start of this season has been no different than the past three seasons: all of them played on opening day then, too.

Even more surprising is that the five cornerstones of the Bulldogs’ defense have missed only 14 games combined during the past three seasons.

During their time together, Grant Hunter, Ross Teare, Jeff Poss, Robert Koteff and Larry Thomas have built up a strong defensive unit that relies on each person doing his job.

Photo by Rachel Senn

“From having played week after week, year after year, they trust each other,” head coach Jeff Voris said. “They can count on each other to have the right gap.”

Teare, finished fourth on the team in tackles last season with 14. The senior agrees with Voris that developing a cohesive defensive line should pay big dividends for the Bulldogs this season.

“When you play with the same guys for long enough, you get to know them as players and know what they are going to do,” Teare said.

While the durability of the five on game day is impressive, perhaps even more important is the dedication and perseverance they display in workouts.

“They hardly ever miss practice, a lifting session or team meeting,” Voris said. “That provides a great example for our younger guys to follow.”

Last season, the five defenders were responsible for 7.5 sacks and 114 tackles.

In 2009, when the Bulldogs won the Pioneer Football League championship, they were responsible for 16 sacks and 127 tackles.

“Obviously, we would like every season to be like 2009,” Voris said. “If we are going to get back to where we were then, it is going to start with our seniors.”

The Bulldogs are looking at every game as a championship game during this season, Teare said.

“That’s the mindset we need to have,” Teare said. “If we have that mentality, hopefully we will be where we want to be.”

Hunter said that he also understands an experienced senior class will be key to whatever success Butler has this season.

“As seniors, it is our job to lead by example,” Hunter said. “If we want to experience 2009 again, that’s what it is going to take.”

After the first two games, Voris said he likes what he has seen from his defensive and offensive lines.

“We have always said the improvement of our program goes hand-in-hand with the improvement of the offensive and defensive lines,” he said. “If we do those things right, the score will take care of itself.”

An offensive attack of 20 unanswered points during the third quarter was too much for the Butler football team on Saturday, as the Bulldogs fell to Indiana State 48-34 at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute.

The outburst by the Sycamores (1-1) thwarted Butler’s hopes of bringing home a win in the first meeting between the two squads in 37 years.

Indiana State found the end zone early, scoring a touchdown within the first two minutes in the game.

The Bulldogs (1-1) responded when senior wide receiver Jeff Larsen scored on a 19-yard pass from freshman running back Brandon Grubbe, tying the game 7-7.

In the second quarter, Butler grabbed the lead with a 30-yard field goal by senior kicker David Lang. Lang scored 10 points in the Bulldogs’ loss and was named Pioneer Football League Player of the Week.

“They expected to push us over, and we were not going to roll over just because they are a big school,” Butler sophomore cornerback Kevin Cook said. “We kind of went in there with a chip on our shoulder.”
The Sycamores soon took back the lead with a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by sophomore wide receiver Leonard Riston.

The Bulldogs were not behind for long though, thanks to a 4-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Andrew Huck to senior wide receiver Jordan Koopman.

Photo by Rachel Senn

The Sycamores outscored the Bulldogs 7-3 in the final two minutes of the first half.

“We went toe-to-toe with them and competed,” Butler head coach Jeff Voris said.  “It should give us the confidence that we can play with anyone if we play together, play as a team and trust each other.”

Indiana State came out strong in the second half with two touchdowns in less than six minutes. The Sycamores posted 20 points in the third quarter while the Bulldogs went scoreless.

“We came out a bit sluggish after the half and Indiana State took advantage of that,” Cook said.
Butler fought back with two touchdown passes by Huck in the fourth quarter, but Indiana State’s offensive onslaught in the third quarter proved to be too much.

The Bulldogs finished with 429 offensive yards, while the Sycamores had 456.

Junior linebacker Ridley led Butler defensively with 12 tackles. Ridley also forced a fumble in the game.

“We learn more from a loss than a win,” freshman cornerback Jimmy Schwabe said. “As a resilient team, we are going to bounce back and learn from our mistakes so we can get a win.”

The Bulldogs will hit the road again to take on Taylor Saturday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m.

Butler beat the Trojans (2-0) last season 28-20.

Following a 15-run showing against Youngstown State Friday, the Butler baseball team has struggled to score, resulting in a three-game losing streak.

The Bulldogs (12-16, 4-5 HL) will look to revive their offense against Lawrence on Friday after being shut out by Dayton yesterday.

The Flyers (17-16) scored three times in the third inning and got help from Butler’s shaky defense to top the Bulldogs, 4-0.

Butler outhit Dayton, 7-4, but the Flyers took advantage of errors in the third and sixth innings to bring home two of their four runs.

That was all the run support Dayton pitchers would need. Junior Tim Bury pitched five and two-thirds innings out of the bullpen, giving up seven hits and striking out five.

The Flyers received RBIs from junior shortstop Brian Blasik and junior first baseman C.J. Gillman.

Freshman Marcos Calderon took the loss for the Bulldogs, going four innings and allowing three runs on two hits.

On Friday, Butler’s slate of games against the Penguins (8-21, 3-3 HL) started with a strong victory for the Bulldogs, as they defeated Youngstown State, 15-1. The 14-run win was Butler’s largest of the season.

“[The win] was really fun,” head coach Steve Farley said. “We got great pitching and hitting, but I wish we wouldn’t have won by so much.”

The Bulldogs piled up 18 hits in the game and received 11 RBIs from junior rightfielder Mike Hoscheit and senior third baseman Grant Fillipitch combined.

Hoscheit went 3-for-5 with 7 RBIs in the contest. It was a career day for Hoscheit, who drove home six of the seven runs on doubles in the fifth, seventh and ninth innings.

“The whole team was hitting,” Hoscheit said. “It became contagious and it took the pressure off at the plate.”

Up 2-0 entering the fifth inning, the Bulldogs scored four times thanks to an RBI double by Hoscheit, a run-scoring single by Fillipitch and a two-run triple by freshman first baseman Zach Sizemore.

Butler kept pressure on the Penguins through the rest of the game, tallying nine runs on nine hits over the final four innings.

While Hoscheit’s seven-RBI day topped the scoresheet for Butler, the Bulldogs also received strong hitting performances from Fillipitch, who went 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBIs, and senior second baseman Luke Duncan, who went 4-for-4 and scored four times.

Senior Dom Silvestri pitched eight innings, allowing only a ninth-inning run on seven hits while striking out three.

Butler was unable to carry over any momentum from its big win the previous day to Saturday’s contest, however.

In the opener, Youngstown State got two runs in the opening frame courtesy of an error and an RBI single, giving the Penguins a 5-1 victory.

Butler was held to one run by senior Phil Kline, who went seven innings and gave up four hits while striking out 10 hitters.

The Bulldogs were in control of the second game until Youngstown State staged a late comeback and won in walk-off fashion, 4-3.

Butler scored all three of its runs in the fourth inning, led by an RBI double from sophomore first baseman Pat Gelwicks.

The Penguins scored a run in the eighth inning and two more runs in the ninth inning, winning the game on a single from freshman second baseman Phil Lipari.

“Youngstown State just kept coming back,” Farley said. “We really didn’t do anything bad so I don’t expect us to be too down on ourselves.”

On April 6, the Bulldogs hosted Purdue and dropped a 10-8 decision.

Butler will welcome the Vikings (2-15) from Lawrence for a three-game series before heading to Ball State April 19.

The Bulldogs outlasted Cleveland State in 16 innings Sunday to win the longest game in Butler softball history. Click the tabs for coverage.

• Story
• Video
• Photos

Video

Video by Elyssa Garfinkle

Photos

Photos by Ryan Love

Butler Blue II became a media sensation at last year’s NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four, and this year, his stardom rose to a whole new level.

“It’s come on a lot sooner this year and the level of intensity and interest has risen,” Michael Kaltenmark, Blue’s handler, said. “Last year, there wasn’t much attention until the Final Four.

“This year, it started right away, even before the opening round.”

During the 2010 tournament, Blue enjoyed the spotlight with pictures on ESPN.com and an appearance on the CBS Sports Pregame show.

This year, Blue’s photos showed up everywhere, from the Washington Post to TMZ.

During last year’s tournament, Blue enjoyed the spa treatment at his local Indy hangouts like Good Dog Hotel and Spa in Broad Ripple.

This year, he enjoyed spa treatment at the InterContinental Houston Near the Galleria where he was pampered with a massage, alongside a model for College X on Fox Sports. He even had a martini named after him.

Yes, if Blue was living the good life last year, this year, it got even better.

It all seemed to start with the #freebutlerblue2 hashtag on Twitter, started by @ButlerVictory, Kaltenmark said.

The hashtag was meant to “free” Blue from NCAA rules that prohibited him from appearing at any of Butler’s tournament games prior to the Final Four.

“We knew we probably wouldn’t be able to attend, but we decided to try, and when the media and fans found out, they weren’t happy,” Kaltenmark said. “I talked to the NCAA to make sure they knew it was all in good spirit, and we decided to have a little fun with it.”

ESPN’s Kenny Mayne filmed “Butler’s Reign of Terror” at Hinkle Fieldhouse, a satirical piece on Blue and his NCAA tournament appearances.

“Last year it was one week of madness,” Kaltenmark said. “This year, it has been more than three weeks of madness.”

There were columns in major national newspapers. There was an appearance by Kaltenmark and Blue on ESPN’s “First Take” during the opening rounds. There were multiple local TV appearances and a second straight appearance on the CBS Sports Pregame show.

“We weren’t doing shows and appearances like that last year,” Kaltenmark said. “This year we’re on national news the first week.”

Beyond the mainstream media, Blue’s Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube sites, all run by Kaltenmark, exploded with visitors.

On April 3, Blue’s Flickr account hit an all-time high with 82,655 views of his photos from Houston.

Previously never eclipsing the 1,000- to 2,000-view mark, Blue’s Flickr page averaged no less than 12,000 views a day since last week. A photo of Blue “lifting his leg” on a blow-up Wisconsin Badger received more than 20,000 hits alone.

Printable masks of Blue have all exceeded 10,000 hits a piece.

“It’s crazy,” Kaltenmark said. “It’s absolutely unbelievable.

“I think it shows that of all the schools, Butler has really utilized its live mascot and the use of social media to promote the university.”

After last year’s Final Four, the number of Blue’s Twitter followers had just exceeded 1,000. He’s added five times as many new followers since the 2011 tournament began. Between March 28 and April 5, Blue went from about 4,000 followers to 6,082.

“Blue’s really dynamic and engaging on Twitter, so people tend to interact with him more,” Kaltenmark said. “If I don’t check his mentions for an hour, I’ll come back to 30 to 50 mentions.”

A Youtube video featuring Blue, costumed mascot Hink and unofficial Butler basketball mascot Ron5 Robot, has earned more than 15,000 views since posted three weeks ago.

Each video posted of Blue devouring opponent-shaped doggy cookies has earned more than 1,000 views since they were posted.

“I just think that this is our time and we have to take advantage of it,” Kaltenmark said. “I think we’re kicking [the other Final Four schools’] butt on social media.

“It also worked to draw attention away from Brad [Stevens] and the team, which I think they appreciate.

“It’s a beautiful thing.”

And while TMZ may have been the craziest request Kaltenmark has had for Blue, he’s happy he has received all the attention.

“TMZ was crazy,” he said. “I never in my life thought TMZ would contact me about Blue.

“We’ve just had so much fun with it all. This is what Blue was born to do, and we’ve enjoyed the ride.”