A red-hot March for Markus Burton and the Irish
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Notre Dame had an end of season surge last week, knocking off Wake Forest and Clemson at home.
In these two games freshman sensation Markus Burton averaged 26 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals earning him his fourth ACC Rookie of the Week award, and his third in the last four weeks.
This honor sets a new Notre Dame/ACC record.
Burton scored a career high 31 points against Wake Forest, plus a career-best 11-11 from the free-throw line.
Following that, Burton led the Irish with 21 points against Clemson as well as a season-best six rebounds.
Burton is the only rookie in the country (just 1-of-4 overall in Division 1) averaging at least 17 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. He ranks first in scoring and steals amongst ACC rookies, and second in assists.
The freshman ranks fifth in scoring (17.6 ppg), third in assists (4.8 pg) and first in steals (2.3 pg) in the entire ACC.
The atmosphere in Purcell Pavilion Saturday night was electric as the Irish seemed to be clicking on all cylinders.
The seniors were celebrated before the game, and most notable was senior Matt Zona's performance for the Irish
Zona hit two major threes at key points of the game, sending the Irish faithful into a frenzy.
"It's something I haven't really had since I've been here. You know I haven't played a whole lot but you know the whole coaching staff believes in me, my teammates believe in me. It's unbelievable. It's just made playing for this university more fun," shared Zona.
Tae Davis was another key contributor to the Irish win over Clemson, scoring all of his 18 points in the second half. Davis was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe.
"Leave with this feeling. Leave with this feeling right here and know that...we're not going backwards. It's only going forward from here," stated Coach Micah Shrewsberry.
Notre Dame has won five of their last six games and believe to be playing their best basketball in March.
The Irish are set to take on North Carolina in Chapel Hill Tuesday at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network.
