The Players Era Festival in Las Vegas was always going to be a tough challenge for Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were slated to face Rutgers and Houston, with a third game against an opponent to be determined after Wednesday's matchups.

Notre Dame men's basketball lost Markus Burton early, but that was no reason to give up or give in against Rutgers. The Irish almost figured a way out

Notre Dame men's basketball and Rutgers renewed their Big East rivalry in the first round of the new Players Era Festival tournament in Las Vegas

The team fought valiantly without their best player for most of the game, but ultimately didn’t have enough firepower to hang with Dylan Harper and the Scarlet Knights