Notre Dame coach charges at refs after ‘fouling up 3’ ends in 4-point play loss

‘Fouling up three’ is one of basketball’s great philosophical debates. There’s an easy argument to make that it’s the smart thing to do to prevent a game-tying shot attempt in an era with better long distance shooting than ever before. The strategy also risks committing the foul in the act of the shot, or giving up an offensive rebound on the ensuing free throw, which could turn a win-or-overtime situation into an instant loss. Notre Dame men’s basketball learned about the downsides of fouling up three in the worst possible way on Friday night.

The Cal Golden Bears beat Notre Dame, 72-71, after the Irish suffered the disastrous consequences of botching their “foul up three” strategy. After the buzzer sounded, Notre Dame head coach Micah Strewsberry charged at the officials and had to be held back by his players as he demanded an answer for the call that turned a win into a loss.

Notre Dame was up three with 10 seconds left with Cal inbounding the ball under its own basket. Cal guard Dai Dai Ames dribbled the ball up the court, and as he fired a three-pointer, the refs called a foul on Irish guard Logan Imes. The foul call was originally overturned to be on the floor, then it was overturned again to count. Ames made the free throw, and somehow Cal had the lead. Notre Dame’s final attempt was a miss by the coach’s son Braeden Shrewsberry, sending Notre Dame to its worst defeat of the year. Watch the final play:

Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry absolutely lost his mind after the game, running full speed at the refs in an attempt to confront them about the end of the game. He had to be held back by his players and staff, and he’s lucky they stepped in to prevent him from causing an even bigger scene.

Here’s Shrewsberry charging at the refs:

Here’s a better angle of Shrewsberry’s end-of-game reaction:

Two things can be true here: Shrewsberry seemed to have a legitimately gripe with the call, and he absolutely acted out of line after the buzzer.

Notre Dame was trying to foul at mid-court and didn’t get the call. It looked like this foul was committed on the floor before the shot, but it’s close. Here’s a freeze frame of the game-deciding call, with Ames about to go into his shot when he’s fouled. This would be a continuation in the NBA, but usually it isn’t called that way in the college game.

Cal scored seven points in the final 11 seconds to win the game, all by Ames. The guard made a pair of 25-foot three-pointers just before the buzzer, and sank the go-ahead free throw, to give Cal the huge victory.

The Bears improve to 13-2, while Notre Dame drops to 10-5. It’s going to be very hard for the Irish to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at this point.

Shrewsberry won’t be suspended for his late-game reaction. Here’s the statement from the ACC, which issued a ‘public reprimand’ for his actions:

And here’s a statement and apology from Shrewsberry:

Either way, it’s a disastrous loss for the Irish, and a major data point for the dangers of fouling up three at the end of a game.