Notre Dame men's basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry confronts official after heartbreaking loss

Notre Dame suffered a shocking loss to California on Friday night, falling 72-71 in the final seconds. After the final horn sounded, Irish head men’s basketball coach Micah Shrewsberry appeared to angrily confront an official.

Shrewsberry, in his third season at Notre Dame, was furious with the officiating crew for a controversial foul call that turned an Irish win into a heartbreaking defeat with under 10 seconds to go in the game. He charged at the referee he deemed responsible and had to be held back by multiple players and coaches.

The final scene at Cal tonight: Micah Shrewsberry, furious with the officials, runs toward one after the final buzzer.

Had to be held back by multiple players and assistant coaches. pic.twitter.com/dvdWN1Wu80

— Jack Soble (@jacksoble56) January 3, 2026

With 9.9 seconds remaining, Notre Dame led 71-68. Junior Irish guard Logan Imes hounded Cal junior guard Dai Dai Ames up the court, clearly trying to foul up 3 and put Ames at the free-throw line. But by the time Imes reached Ames and did foul him, Cal’s leading scorer had reached his spot.

Ames rose up, knocked down the three-pointer from the left wing. The official closest to the play ruled that Imes had fouled Ames in the act of shooting, giving the Golden Bears 3 points to tie the game and an opportunity for 1 more to take the lead. Ames hit the free throw, giving Cal a 1-point advantage with 5.5 seconds to go.

Chaos ensued as the refs huddled to discuss their call. They changed it to a foul on the floor, apparently letting Notre Dame off the hook. But after further discussion, they changed it back to a made basket.

Notre Dame had one more chance at the other end, but junior guard Braeden Shrewsberry missed a three-pointer at the buzzer. As soon as the horn sounded, Micah Shrewsberry turned his attention toward the referee who made the call.

Shrewsberry ran toward the official, clearly incensed about what had just transpired. He had to be held back by multiple players (freshman Tommy Ahneman and graduate student Matthew MacLellan). Assistant coaches Ryan Owens and Matt Farrelly tried to get in Shrewsberry’s way as well.

Toward the end of the clip, Owens appeared to yell “No!” at Shrewsberry several times. Fellow assistant coach Tre Whitted had what appeared to be pointed words for his boss as well.

Shrewsberry regained his composure after being held back, shook hands with Cal head coach Mark Madsen and the rest of the Golden Bears and walked back to the locker room with his team.

Shrewsberry did not speak to reporters after the game. According to a team spokesperson, media in attendance did not request the third-year head coach for a postgame press conference. No one from the Notre Dame beat made the trip out to Berkeley, Calif.

Notre Dame fell to 10-5, with a 1-1 record in Atlantic Coast Conference play after Tuesday’s 47-40 win over Stanford and Friday’s gut-wrenching loss to Cal. The Irish return home for a 5 p.m. ET tip-off Sunday against Clemson at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend.

Shrewsberry is 38-43 (16-26 ACC) as the head coach at Notre Dame, and he’s 75-73 as a head coach including two seasons at Penn State.

Update: Shrewsberry released the following statement, through Notre Dame men’s basketball on social media:

“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.”