Butler hopes to use 2003's experience against Florida

Butler's players won't be selling tickets this time before a regional semifinal.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Joel Cornette was a busy man the last time Butler reached the NCAA's regional semifinals. Maybe too busy.
After leading the Bulldogs past Mississippi State and Louisville in the 2003 tournament, the senior spent the following week doing interviews and helping the school sell its allotment of tickets for the next game in Albany, N.Y.
Butler doesn't intend to get sidetracked by all that this week.
"When we got back on campus, the students wanted to celebrate, and there was the media circus and you're trying to catch up with your school work," said Cornette, now the Bulldogs' coordinator of basketball operations. "You have ticket requests and everything. What we learned was that you've got to find a way to strike the right balance with all of that."
The lessons from four years ago still linger with coach Todd Lickliter.
He admits now that having two senior starters, Cornette and Darnell Archey, camped out at a folding table hawking tickets in the Hinkle Fieldhouse lobby might not have been the best way to prepare for Oklahoma. Nor was setting aside so much time for interviews.
But when you're a small school playing on the NCAA's biggest stage after reaching the second weekend of the tournament, it's tough to say no.
Experience will help
The experience, the Bulldogs believe, will make them better prepared for Friday night's showdown with defending national champion Florida.
"I know we won't have that deal," Lickliter said when asked about players selling tickets. "I think the peripheral stuff will be taken care of by the sports staff and that will help. The only thing I really remember was what that sting was like, losing to Oklahoma."
What's changed in four years?
Plenty.
The Bulldogs have already set a school record for victories, were ranked for 16 straight weeks and took advantage of earning the highest tourney seed in school history, a No. 5 in the Midwest Regional.
They've proven they can play with some of the nation's best teams, having won five games against "power conference" schools -- all of whom made the NCAA tournament. They're also 8-0 on neutral courts this season and are confident they can continue winning.
Different expectations
The expectations are different, too.
In '03, two NCAA wins were a major accomplishment for a program that had won only three previous tournament games, including a victory in a third-place game in the 1962 regional.
Yes, the Bulldogs still embrace their little-guy image, but they've demonstrated they will not be awe-struck.
Two November wins in New York City capped their improbable run to the NIT Season Tip-Off championship.
So Butler isn't satisfied just hanging around.
"We'll get back to work, that's not a problem," junior guard A.J. Graves said.
"We've experienced success, and we'll put this in its place, too. We did that in the Preseason NIT, and we want to do more."
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