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

Dylan Harper scored a career-high 36 points and Rutgers held off Notre Dame for an 85-84 overtime victory in the Players Era Festival.

In a game that featured 12 ties and 17 lead changes, Irish power forward Paul Atkinson’s rebound basket with 1.2 seconds left gave Notre Dame an 89-87 victory and sent the Irish on to face Alabama in the first round in San Diego. Atkinson scored a game-high 26 points with six rebounds.

The Notre Dame men's basketball team will remember its first game of the Players Era Festival for a lot of reasons. Unfortunately, it won't be for a victory it lost an 85-84 overtime thriller to Rutgers in Las Vegas.

First, let’s give Notre Dame extra credit: the Irish lost Markus Burton early in the game - he scored just two points - and still took Rutgers to the wire. Matt Alloco scored 24