Villanova, Notre Dame Open in Historic Rome Game — SkimNews
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- NCAA quietly approved a waiver in January that gives Villanova and Notre Dame a one-day head start on the 2026-27 season, allowing the Nov. 1 opener in Rome.
- Palazzetto dello Sport will host what is believed to be the first men's season opener on foreign soil and the first regular-season Division I basketball game in Italy; the approximately 3,500-seat venue has been around since the 1950s.
- Pope Leo XIV held a private audience Saturday with all four teams and their traveling fans, with approximately 7,000 people expected in the Paul VI Audience Hall inside Vatican City; whether the Pope attends Sunday's game remains unclear.
- Notre Dame enters the opener after losing all three leading scorers from last season—Markus Burton, Jalen Haralson and Cole Certa—to the transfer portal, while coach Micah Shrewsberry enters Year 4 and the program is on the verge of its longest NCAA Tournament drought since the 1990s.
- Villanova is picked -7.5 after a 24-win season, with Tyler Perkins and 7-foot-3 freshman Luigi Suigo highlighted; Suigo will play in his home country of Italy and is known as “Italian Wemby,” while star point guard Acaden Lewis left via the transfer portal.
- Notre Dame's women's team will face Villanova's women's team immediately after the men's game, though women's international openers are not unprecedented: Duke opened against Baylor in Paris last season, No. 20 Maryland faces No. 1 South Carolina in Paris on Nov. 2, and South Carolina opened against Notre Dame there in 2023.
Why it matters: The NCAA waiver moves the season debut to Nov. 1, one day earlier than usual, and gives both programs what is believed to be the first Division I regular-season game in Italy. Notre Dame carries three departed leading scorers into that showcase, while Villanova is picked -7.5 despite losing Acaden Lewis.
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