January 30, 2025

It’s fair to wonder where Notre Dame might be now, had star sophomore guard Markus Burton not missed eight games with a leg injury.

There’s no wondering where Notre Dame would have been without him late Tuesday night.

As the Irish men’s basketball team struggled to find points most of the night against a snug Georgia Tech defense, Burton first kept them in the hunt, then he carried them down the stretch to a 71-68 victory in which the Irish led for just one minute and 49 seconds.

“Pressure is a privilege,” said Burton after his two huge 3-pointers over the final 2:25 and sparkling 26-point, three-rebound, four-assist, three-steal performance finished off the Yellow Jackets.

The win in Purcell Pavilion that finished a little after 11 p.m., in front of 4,200, pushed Notre Dame’s mark to 10-10 overall, and 4-5 in the ACC. It was its eighth win in 10 home games.

Georgia Tech, which knocked off a Burton-less version of the Irish, 86-75, on Dec. 31, has yet to win a road game this season, and fell to 9-12 and 3-7.

The two teams are known for tight tussles. ND is 17-8 against Tech since joining the ACC, and only three of the wins have been by double digits. Five games have gone to overtime.

Burton, who came in averaging 19.9 points a game, now has a stretch of 20-plus points in five straight games — the first time an Irish player has done that since Ben Hansbrough in 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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