18 Jan 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish Guard Markus Burton (3) shoots at Syracuse Orange Center Eddie Lampkin Jr. (44) During the second half at JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Pictures Markus Burton and Notre Dame hope to keep their hot lines against Miami on Saturday in Coral Gables. Fla.
The Fighting Irish (10-10, 4-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) comes from a 71-68 home victory against Georgia Tech on Tuesday, when Burton received a game high 26 points. He hit 9 out of 17 shots from the field, including 4 out of 5 from the 3-point short.
Burton has come strong after missing all December with a right knee injury. He contributes 20.4 points per match in the season, but during the last three matches he has an average of 25.
“He is fun to exercise, because he has great energy and he gives great energy to his teammates,” said Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry. “He learns how people monitor him, what the situation is, what it requires and you can see him start reading the game, start reading defense, setting up, setting up his teammates and he is doing everything effectively right now.”
Notre Dame has won three out of four, and it is a game for a five-game run of matchups against Sub-500 ACC team.
Miami (4-17, 0-10) took a home loss of 82-71 to Virginia on Wednesday to remain Winless in conference play. Matthew Cleveland led the hurricanes with 27 points on 10-AV-17 shooting from the field, but he was 0-for-4 from 3-point intervals.
“Of course, a very disappointing loss for us,” said Miami Interim coach Bill Courtney. “The same problem for us in the defensive end that we have had several times, could not get a key stop. We did enough to win the match against a very good defensive team.”
The fighting Irish may lick their chops on their immediate schedule, but Shrewsberry is determined to keep it easy for its players.
“I told our guys after we won (Tuesday), our next game on Saturday is our Super Bowl,” he said. “Every game is for us, what’s right in front of us, I think we have to focus on it. I think we can be a good team, but we are still a young team.”
-Field level media
