Notre Dame vs Villanova in Rome: The Irish Sweep the Eternal City Tip-Off Honoring Chicago-Born Pope Leo XIV

The college basketball season opened Sunday in Rome, and it opened with a sweep. Notre Dame rallied late to beat Villanova 74-72 in the men's game at the Eternal City Tip-Off, then the No. 13 Notre Dame women completed the day with a 99-75 win over the Wildcats — a doubleheader staged to honor Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, who was born Robert Prevost in Chicago.

The men's game turned in the final minutes. Villanova led by 10 with about 10 minutes to play, but the Wildcats committed 20 turnovers — 15 in the first half — and Notre Dame scored 20 points off them. Logan Duncomb hit the go-ahead 3-pointer off a Villanova turnover with just over a minute remaining, giving the Fighting Irish their first lead since the first half, and Notre Dame closed it out at the line.

In the women's game, Hannah Hidalgo was the best player in the building: 32 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals, the high-scoring line of the day. "It's such a blessing," Hidalgo said. "Just to be here in Rome, we were able to go to the Vatican, see the Pope and do all these things."

The pope himself was not at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport, about a half-hour from the Vatican, but he had received all four teams in an audience on Saturday before some 7,000 players, coaches, fans and family members. Leo — a 1977 Villanova mathematics graduate — told the teams the pontiff stays neutral in matters of sport, then added, to laughs: "Prevost has another opinion, but we won't do that now."

For Chicago, the day carried a hometown thread: the pope at the center of it was born here, and Notre Dame, in South Bend, has long been part of this city's college-sports life. The games were played on All Saints' Day, and the rest of the Division I season tips off Monday.