By JAMES MADDEN
Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry was outraged and made an apparent charge toward the game’s officials following his team’s loss to California on Friday, a 72-71 last-second loss.
Following two made free throws, California’s Dai Dai Ames converted on a three-point attempt to tie the game, with five seconds left, while also drawing a shooting foul against Notre Dame’s Logan Imes, giving him the chance to give California the lead.
Following the call, a furious Shrewsberry pleaded with the referees, repeatedly shouting “No!,” in response to the call. The referees proceeded to change the call to an on-the-floor foul and then back to a shooting foul, leading to more outrage from both coaches and chaos.
With Shrewsberry declining to speak to the media, due to no Notre Dame media making the trip west, California head coach Mark Madsen was asked about the mayhem postgame.
“I thought there was a foul going up,” Madsen said. “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 — but I was grateful Dai Dai rose up and made the shot, and I was grateful Dai Dai had the maturity and the huge presence of mind and the composure to knock down the free throw.”
Following the final buzzer, Shrewsberry made an apparent charge towards the referees as they walked towards the tunnel, but was restrained by multiple assistant coaches and players.
This angle of the Notre Dame coach charging at the ref
(via claireanella/TT) pic.twitter.com/QsDcMKaUue
— Overtime (@overtime) January 3, 2026
Shrewsberry released an official statement Saturday morning apologizing for his actions during Notre Dame’s loss on Friday.
The Fighting Irish fell to 10-5 with the loss to California and are 1-1 in ACC play.
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