LAS VEGAS — Notre Dame star guard Markus Burton is expected to miss several weeks with a non-season-ending knee injury, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
Burton suffered the injury on Tuesday night against Rutgers, playing just three minutes before leaving the game.
A 5-foot-11 point guard, Burton was one of the best freshmen in the country last season and was selected to the preseason all-ACC team last month. He entered this week averaging 21.4 points and 5.2 assists, scoring 29 points against North Dakota and 25 points against Elon in the two games preceding the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.
Notre Dame suffered its second straight loss on Tuesday, falling in overtime without Burton. The Fighting Irish face No. 6 Houston on Wednesday night and round out their time in Vegas on Saturday against a to-be-determined opponent before heading to Georgia next week.
Sophomore Logan Imes saw a huge increase in playing time with Burton out, going from five total minutes in his previous three games to 35 minutes against Rutgers. He scored eight points and hit a pair of 3-pointers before fouling out. Imes and senior Julian Roper II will be forced to shoulder more perimeter responsibility in Burton’s absence.
