Notre Dame men’s basketball found itself at the heart of a storm on Friday night, January 2, 2026, as a controversial finish against California turned a near-certain road victory into a bitter 72-71 defeat—and sparked an emotional outburst from head coach Micah Shrewsberry that’s reverberated across the college basketball world.
The high-stakes Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) matchup at Cal’s home court was supposed to be a milestone for the Fighting Irish. With 9.9 seconds left and a three-point lead, Notre Dame stood on the brink of starting 2-0 in conference play for the first time in recent memory. Instead, a wild final sequence and a disputed referee decision unraveled their hopes and ignited a postgame controversy that overshadowed the night’s on-court heroics.
Let’s set the scene: Notre Dame led 71-68, the clock winding down, their defense just one solid stand away from sealing a statement win. Coach Shrewsberry, in his third year at the helm and having recently displayed a more composed sideline demeanor, instructed his players to foul before Cal could attempt a game-tying three-pointer—a classic strategy in such moments. Guard Logan Imes, tasked with executing the plan, swiped at Cal’s Dai Dai Ames twice as he crossed mid-court with no whistle. The third time, just as Ames rose up from the left wing, Imes reached in. The whistle finally blew.
What happened next was chaos. Referee Adam Flore initially ruled it a shooting foul, awarding Ames a potential four-point play as his three-pointer swished through the net. The officials then reversed their decision, claiming the foul occurred before the shot—negating the basket and setting up a sideline inbound. But after a heated conference and impassioned pleas from Cal coach Mark Madsen, the referees reversed themselves once again, deciding the foul was in the act of shooting. The basket counted, and Ames would go to the line for the go-ahead free throw with just 5.5 seconds on the clock.
“I thought there was a foul going up. I saw the officials signal it,” Madsen told reporters postgame. “They conversed a couple times and they allowed it. There’s so much emotion in that gym—for the officials, for me, for the other team. I was grateful Dai Dai rose up and made the shot and I was grateful that Dai Dai had the maturity and the huge presence of mind, the composure, to knock down the free throw.”
With the crowd in a frenzy, Ames calmly drained the free throw, completing the rare four-point play and giving Cal a 72-71 lead. Notre Dame, stunned but not yet finished, called timeout and set up a final play. The ball found Braedon Shrewsberry—yes, the coach’s son—who launched a three-pointer as time expired. The shot clanged off the front rim, sealing the Irish’s fate and sending the Cal bench into celebration.
But the drama was far from over. As the final horn sounded, Coach Shrewsberry, visibly furious, charged toward referee Flore, shouting and pointing in protest of the call that had swung the game. Players, assistant coach Mike Farrelly, and even freshman center Tommy Ahneman—using his 6-foot-11 frame—had to physically restrain Shrewsberry, preventing what could have become a much uglier scene. Flore, caught off guard, turned to see the commotion as Shrewsberry was held back, his frustration boiling over after what he and many Irish fans saw as a critical officiating blunder.
This outburst marked a stark departure from the more measured and introspective Shrewsberry of recent weeks. Earlier in the season, he’d weathered tough losses with philosophical calm, even after a frustrating defeat at Ohio State and a home upset to Purdue Fort Wayne. But the stakes—and emotions—were higher on this night, with a chance to make Notre Dame basketball history slipping away in the blink of an eye.
The ACC moved quickly to address the situation. On Saturday morning, the conference issued a public reprimand, stating, “Shrewsberry aggressively confronted a member of the officiating crew following the game. The unsportsmanlike behavior that was displayed is unacceptable and tarnishes the on-court play between these institutions.” However, the league made it clear that no suspension would be forthcoming, closing the matter with the reprimand alone.
Shrewsberry, for his part, took responsibility for his actions in a statement released through Notre Dame’s social media channels: “I want to apologize for what took place immediately after the Cal game last night. My actions were inappropriate and not symbolic of the leader I strive to be and what Notre Dame expects of its coaches and educators. I will learn from this lack of judgement and be better in the future. I want to apologize to our team, our University and its leaders, to Coach Madsen and his team, and to the ACC, as my actions were unacceptable.”
The apology, while earnest, couldn’t erase the sting of a loss that dropped the Fighting Irish to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in ACC play. It also reignited debate about late-game officiating in college basketball and the thin line coaches walk between passionate advocacy for their teams and maintaining composure under pressure. The referees’ indecision—reversing the call twice before settling on the four-point play—only added fuel to the fire, with fans and analysts alike questioning the consistency and transparency of officiating in such high-leverage moments.
For Cal, the win was a testament to resilience and poise. The Bears trailed by as many as 12 points earlier in the contest and faced a four-point deficit with just over 11 seconds remaining. But they closed the game on a 7-0 run, making their final three field goal attempts and capitalizing on Notre Dame’s late-game mistakes. Dai Dai Ames, in particular, emerged as the hero, scoring the game’s decisive points and earning praise from his coach for his “huge presence of mind and composure.”
Notre Dame, meanwhile, was left to ponder what might have been. The Irish missed their last four field goal attempts, failed to execute the intentional foul strategy cleanly, and couldn’t close out a game that seemed firmly in hand. The meltdown in the final seconds—both on the scoreboard and on the sideline—served as a harsh reminder of the razor-thin margins that define college basketball in January.
Looking ahead, the Fighting Irish have a week off to regroup before returning to action at home against Clemson on January 10. For Shrewsberry and his squad, the challenge will be to move past the heartbreak in Berkeley, learn from the late-game collapse, and, perhaps most importantly, keep their emotions in check when the next big moment arrives. The ACC race is just heating up, and if Friday night proved anything, it’s that anything can happen in the final seconds. The spotlight now turns to how Notre Dame responds—with composure, determination, and maybe, just maybe, a bit of redemption on their minds.
