Notre Dame guard Markus Burton (knee) out for several weeks

Notre Dame’s worst fears have been avoided, but the news is still not ideal. Sophomore point guard Markus Burton, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year and a preseason first-team All-ACC selection, will miss games “on a week-to-week basis” with a knee injury suffered Tuesday night against Rutgers.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello was the first to report that Burton is not out for the remainder of the 2024-25 season. Notre Dame confirmed the news in a press release Wednesday afternoon.

“I couldn’t be more proud of how my teammates competed following my injury, and I know they will pick me up and continue to play well. I look forward to supporting them in any way possible,” Burton said in a statement. “As in everything I do in basketball, I will attack my rehab and give it my best to get back on the floor at full strength as soon as possible.” 

“We are thankful that Markus will be back this season at full strength,” Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “I have the full faith in our athletic trainer, Nixon Dorvilien, and our entire medical staff to put Markus in the best position to return to the court when it is the right time.”

Burton left the game with 16:36 remaining in the first half of Notre Dame’s 85-84 overtime loss to the Scarlett Knights at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. TBS sideline reporter Allie LaForce reported on TBS that he would not return and will be evaluated after the game.

“Burton made his way out of the locker room and you can see he looks devastated,” LaForce said. “He’s got his foot propped up and he’s not going to be returning to this game.”

Shrewsberry did not have an update on Burton after the game, but his words were not promising.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but we’re just gonna put this in God’s hands and let him handle it,” Shrewsberry said. “Whatever happens next, we’ll handle it.”

When Burton went up for a layup early in the loss, junior Rutgers center Emmanuel Ogbole tried to contest it. The ball in, but the 6-foot-10 Ogbole came down on top of the 6-foot-0 guard and caused his knee to twist awkwardly upon contact. Burton limped off the court.

Through four games of his sophomore season, Burton averaged 21.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He had also improved his efficiency, shooting 47.1 percent from the field, 34.6 percent from three-point range and 84.2 percent from the free-throw line.

His offensive output led the Irish by nearly 7 points per game over the next-highest scorer, fellow sophomore guard Braeden Shrewsberry.

Burton nearly hit his career high in a 75-58 win over North Dakota on Nov. 19, scoring 29 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. He also came close to the first Irish triple double in over a decade, when he scored 19 points, corralled 9 boards and dished 8 assists Nov. 11 against Buffalo.

More than the numbers, though, the Mishawaka, Ind. native was the engine that made Notre Dame’s offense go. The attention he drew opened up the floor for Shrewsberry, graduate student guard Matt Allocco and the rest of his teammates, leading to a 4-1 start for the Irish in Micah Shrewsberry’s second season.

Notre Dame has already lost a key piece of its backcourt this year: Freshman guard Sir Mohammed underwent knee surgery last week and is out indefinitely. Mohammed, as an adept ball-handler and passer, would have helped replace Burton if he had to miss extended time.

Sophomore guard Logan Imes took Burton’s minutes against Rutgers and performed well, scoring 8 points and draining 2 three-pointers. Braeden Shrewsberry, Allocco and junior forward Tae Davis will have to step up as Notre Dame’s top scorers going forward.

Allocco did that Tuesday night, draining a three-pointer in the final seconds of regulation and catching fire with 3 more in the last minute of overtime.

Notre Dame will move forward without Burton, starting late Wednesday night/early Thursday morning. The Irish will take on Houston at 12:30 a.m. ET on Thanksgiving in their second Players Era Festival game in Las Vegas.