Notre Dame was off to a 5-1 start, but then lost its best player and it’s been a struggle this season.

Sophomore point guard Markus Burton suffered an injury three minutes into the eventual Rutgers loss Nov. 26. He returned to action this past Saturday and had 23 points in 23 minutes off the bench in a 74-73 loss vs. North Carolina.

Counting the Rutgers loss, the Fighting Irish went 3-6 without Burton. Notre Dame’s best wins have been against Georgetown on Nov. 16, and vs. Syracuse on Dec. 7.

Notre Dame is 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the ACC and play at NC State (8-6 overall, 1-2 ACC) at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Lenovo Center on ESPNU.