This Sunday was a brutal one in South Bend. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell 72–69 to the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, a game they entered with a 94% win probability, according to ESPN. A loss, head coach Micah Shrewsberry made clear, would sting well beyond the final buzzer.

The upset marked Notre Dame’s first defeat inside Purcell Pavilion in the 2025-26 NCAA season and snapped a four-game winning streak that had begun to restore belief around the program and confidence among the players. But for the coach, it wasn’t just about one bad night; it was about standards, preparation, and a missed opportunity to close the non-conference games the right way.

“What it did was ruin my Christmas. I’m going to watch this film, there ain’t no Christmas in my house,” coach Micah Shrewsberry said in a post-game interview. “There might be for everybody else in the family. But I have a huge chip on my shoulder that we got to get this back. So starting tomorrow, I’m going to watch this game. I’m gonna figure out how we’re better, and I’m going to start watching Stanford.”

In the game, despite being heavy favorites, the Fighting Irish spent most of the afternoon playing from behind, while Purdue Fort Wayne controlled the tempo early, racing out to a 10–6 lead and never truly allowing Notre Dame to settle into the rhythm. The Mastodons led for the majority of the matchup, pushing the advantage to as many as 11 points in the first half. Notre Dame closed the opening 20 minutes on an 8–0 run, cutting the deficit to 27–24 at halftime. But the uneven start proved to be costly for them.

Even when the Irish briefly grabbed momentum in the second half, stringing together defensive stops and tying the game at 41, every push was met with a response from Fort Wayne. Statistically, the margin on the scoreboard wasn’t even that big, as both teams shot around 40% from the field. Notre Dame even held a significant rebounding edge (43–28). But the difference came from beyond the arc.

Purdue Fort Wayne knocked down 11 three-pointers, going 31%, whereas Notre Dame went only 26%, scoring 7 out of their 27 attempts from deep, and that gap proved to be the decider in a game that remained within one possession late.

Jalen Haralson led the Irish with a season-high 21 points and nine rebounds, while Braeden Shrewsberry added 13. Logan Imes chipped in a career-best 12 points, but even balanced production wasn’t enough to flip the script. With under two minutes remaining, Notre Dame trailed by just one, but then came the turning point: Fort Wayne went on a 6–0 run in the final 45 seconds, forcing the Irish into desperation fouling in hopes of getting the game back in their favor.

With just 37 seconds left on the clock and the Mastodons leading 63–58, both teams began trading back-to-back fouls, resulting in 17 free throws in the final moments. Ultimately, Purdue Fort Wayne did enough at the line to keep the game in its favor, sealing a win with a 3-point lead as the final buzzer went off.

However, now what matters is how his team responds, with conference play looming and no margin left for lapses.

What’s next for Micah Shrewsberry’s Notre Dame?

With this loss under their belt, the Fighting Irish now sit at 9–4, with defeats coming against Ohio State, Kansas, Houston, and now Purdue Fort Wayne. But for Micah Shrewsberry, Sunday was a reminder of what still needs to be built and how to respond.

“You got to get back to playing the right way and playing hard, right? So, whoever booed me on the way out, thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Every single bit of it, right? Because it was deserved by us, and how we played and how I coached them. But we’re not going to quit after tonight…We got to go win two games, man. We got to go win two games; we gave one up. We got to go get it back,” he said.

And for his players, the feelings are mutual.

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“You’ve just got to win games in conference,” Braeden Shrewsberry said when asked how the team moves forward, as per IndyStar.

“We’ve got to go to California and win two,” guard Logan Imes added. “We’ve got the guys to do it.”

With almost 10 days to rest, the Fighting Irish men will play the Stanford Cardinal for their next game (first conference matchup) on December 30. Following that, they will lock horns with:

• The California Golden Bears on January 2.
• The Clemson Tigers on January 10.
• The Miami Hurricanes on January 13.

The upcoming stretch gives Notre Dame a chance to reset, prove its resilience, and show that one loss won’t define its season. Do you think they can improve?