Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL 2025 47 construction, self-evaluation and in critical moments at the end of games that Notre Dame really should have won. But for a brief moment, let's strip all of that away. The Irish did in the locker room af- ter the game. As Shrewsberry entered, his players waited with water bottles in their hands. Sophomore guard Markus Burton was front and center, wearing a devilish grin. They mobbed their coach, spraying water everywhere like they had just advanced in March Madness. Cynics will call that an unearned cel- ebration in a lost season. The Irish don't care. That game was incredible. "Man, I won't forget this one," Konieczny said after the game. "I'm just excited we got the dub, for real," Burton said. Even between two subpar teams — Cal finished 6-14 in ACC play — the basketball was excellent in the overtime periods. On the Golden Bears' side, Jeremiah Wilkinson scored 19 points and made 4 three-pointers after regulation. He was surpassed only by Burton, who scored 21. Every time someone needed a clutch shot to extend the game — Burton's pull-up three with 36 seconds left in overtime No. 1, Cal center Mady Sis- soko's and-one with 29 seconds left in overtime No. 2 and Wilkinson's running layup with five seconds left in overtime No. 3 — they got it. Only in overtime No. 4, when Allocco drilled a three from the right wing, did a shot go down to finally win it. "It felt good the whole way," Allocco said. "You feed off the crowd in that moment, too. There's a lot of energy in the building, so you don't really feel tired." Allocco missed most of February with a wrist injury, but he brushed that con- cern off. It didn't matter in overtime, during which he scored 14 points. "Just their belief in each other, right?" Shrewsberry said. "It was just about getting stops, and when it gets to clutch time, man, I know he missed a couple but Mush [Allocco] is not scared of the moment. He is not scared of the moment. He wants it. "When Markus fouled out, he just said, 'I'm not gonna let us lose.'" The Irish have given themselves every reason not to believe in each other this season. After they were outplayed and out-efforted in a blowout home loss to SMU Feb. 19, it looked like they no lon- ger did. The game before, Shrewsberry said in a now-famous rant his players wouldn't stop fighting. They wouldn't stop caring. It was hard to believe him after SMU. It's not hard to believe him anymore. After Notre Dame presumably loses in the ACC Tournament, the conversa- tions about the future will resume. Until then, the Irish earned a chance to live in the moment. ✦ 2024-25 NOTRE DAME MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE (15-17 Overall, 8-12 ACC) Date Opponent (TV) Result Nov. 6 Stonehill W, 89-60 Nov. 11 Buffalo W, 86-77 Nov. 16 at Georgetown W, 84-63 Nov. 19 North Dakota W, 75-58 Nov. 22 Elon L, 84-77 Nov. 26 vs. Rutgers^ L, 85-84 (OT) Nov. 28 vs. Houston^ L, 65-54 Nov. 30 vs. Creighton^ L, 80-76 Dec. 3 at Georgia% L, 69-48 Dec. 7 Syracuse* W, 69-64 Dec. 11 Dartmouth W, 77-65 Dec. 22 Le Moyne W, 91-62 Dec. 31 at Georgia Tech* L, 86-75 Jan. 4 North Carolina* L, 74-73 Jan. 8 at NC State* L, 66-65 Jan. 11 at Duke* L, 86-78 Jan. 13 Boston College* W, 78-60 Jan. 18 at Syracuse* L, 77-69 Jan. 25 at Virginia* W, 74-59 Jan. 28 Georgia Tech* W, 71-68 Feb. 1 at Miami* L, 63-57 Feb. 4 at Florida State* L, 67-60 Feb. 8 Virginia Tech* L, 65-63 Feb. 12 at Boston College* W, 97-94 (2OT) Feb. 16 Louisville* L, 75-60 Feb. 19 SMU* L, 97-73 Feb. 22 Pittsburgh* W, 76-72 Feb. 26 at Clemson* L, 83-68 Mar. 1 at Wake Forest* L, 74-71 Mar. 5 Stanford* W, 56-54 Mar. 8 California* W, 112-110 (4OT) Mar. 11 vs. Pitt$ W, 55-54 Mar. 12 vs. North Carolina$ (ESPN) 2:30 p.m. ^ PE Festival in Las Vegas; % ACC/SEC Challenge; * ACC game; $ ACC Tournament at Charlotte, N.C. Markus Burton Sets Notre Dame Record With 43 Points Versus Cal Until March 8, 2025, no one at Notre Dame had scored 40-plus points in an ACC game. Markus Burton did it in four overtimes against California as the Irish won 112-110. With a whopping 21 points in the overtimes, Burton finished with 43 and broke the program record for points in an ACC game. Matt Farrell previously held the mark with 37 at Boston College on Feb. 7, 2018. Additionally, Burton put up Notre Dame's first 40-point game since Luke Harangody dropped 40 on the road at Louisville Feb. 28, 2008 (a Big East matchup at the time). His 43 points were the most any Irish player has scored since Adrian Dantley had 49 against Air Force on Feb. 10, 1975. "I wasn't gonna force it, but I knew it was my time to put on a show and will my team to victory, and that's what I had to do," Burton said. "I feel like the coaching staff trusts me, but also the whole team around me." Burton started hot, scoring 18 on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half. He slowed down after the break, scoring only 4 on 0-of-6 shooting in the second. But something clicked during overtime, and he went 6 of 9 from the field and 4 of 4 from beyond the arc during the additional half Notre Dame had to play. Burton pulled up from the left wing and made a three with 36 seconds left in overtime No. 1, tying the game at 79. He did it again for what appeared to be the dagger with 1:38 left in overtime No. 2, before Cal stormed back. He hit two triples in overtime No. 3, which somehow still weren't enough. But they helped extend the game just long enough for Notre Dame to win it. "Markus was unbelievable," Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry said. "He was unreal." — Jack Soble Burton put up Notre Dame's first 40-point game since Luke Harangody dropped 40 at Louisville on Feb. 28, 2008. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS