At least for the time being, Notre Dame has shown it can succeed without one of the country’s top players.
Looking to remain unbeaten at home, the Fighting Irish eye a second consecutive win without injured star Markus Burton on Saturday against Evansville.
Notre Dame (8-3) was dealt a serious blow when Burton, the team leader averaging 18.5 points on 49% shooting and 3.7 assists, suffered a serious ankle injury during the first half at TCU on Dec. 5. With Burton possibly lost for an extended period, the Irish proved they can thrive minus their star.
After pulling out an overtime win over the Horned Frogs, Notre Dame outscored Idaho 47-32 in the second half while shooting 52.5% overall during Wednesday’s 80-65 home victory.
“We all got to step in different ways without (Burton),” said Northern Arizona transfer Carson Towt, who had 19 points and 15 rebounds Wednesday for the Irish.
“We just constantly got to find a rhythm. (Burton) plays a lot of minutes, so now we have to find a way to find rhythms without him on the floor.”
Towt, who averages 10.5 rebounds, has totaled 32 points in the last two games after scoring in double figures only twice through the first nine contests of his initial campaign in South Bend. Meanwhile, freshman teammate Jalen Haralson (14.5 ppg) has scored 20 in back-to-back games and has knocked down 21 of 35 shots (60%) from the floor in December.
“It’s fun. I love being around this group every day,” Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said.
The Irish haven’t opened 7-0 at home since winning the first nine of 2021-22, when they went 14-1 for the season. They’ve outscored opponents by an average margin of 16.8 points at home in the fall of 2025.
Evansville (4-6), meanwhile, hasn’t visited South Bend since November 2012. The Aces have lost their only two true road games this season but were highly competitive during last week’s 80-79 loss at Western Kentucky.
“Every possession matters, especially on the road,” said Evansville coach David Ragland, whose team went 14 of 32 from 3-point range in that contest.
“There are several positives to take away from (the Western Kentucky game).”
Evansville’s 6-foot-10 Connor Turnbull has averaged 19.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in the last three games.
–Field Level Media
