Notre Dame vs. Villanova Top Box Score Player Stats, Highlights from Eternal City Tip-Off in Rome

Notre Dame's men's basketball team traveled all the way to Rome and to get its first win of the season.

The Fighting Irish defeated Villanova 74-70 in Sunday's Eternal City Tip-Off at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome to jumpstart the 2026-27 campaign. The win came in dramatic fashion, as Notre Dame overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half with a strong finishing kick.

Logan Duncomb drilled a three with just more than a minute remaining to put the victors up by two, Elijah Crawford missed a jumper that could have forced overtime and Brady Koehler put the game away on the free-throw line.

Opening the college basketball season in Rome was certainly a notable decision and happened, in part, because of the Pope.

"Inspired by the recent election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born Pope and a Villanova graduate, student-athletes from some of the United States' top Catholic universities will travel to Rome and Vatican City for a one-of-a-kind international experience to begin their college hoops season," Villanova announced before the game.

It was fittingly a back-and-forth first half between two high-profile teams, although the Wildcats took a four-point lead into intermission.

Tyler Perkins made some plays on the outside, and the Big East team didn't hesitate to get out in transition as it set the initial tone. Notre Dame was in comeback mode for much of the first half, and things became more dire for the Fighting Irish early in the second half.

Villanova extended the lead to double digits when Perkins caught fire from beyond the arc with three straight triples. He was the best player on the court for extended stretches and took advantage of the smallest sliver of space when the Notre Dame defense was not in position.

To the Fighting Irish's credit, they didn't go away even when it seemed like the Wildcats would pull away.

Braeden Shrewsberry led the way on the offensive side with some perimeter shooting and a willingness to facilitate when defenders collapsed on him for a stretch, while Koehler provided an important spark with his own scoring and rebounding.

By the time Koehler connected a three and Braeden Smith hit two free throws, it was a two-point game with fewer than five minutes remaining.

Notre Dame continued to build on its in crunch time momentum and pulled within a single point in the final two minutes when Koehler threw down a monster jam in transition.

That was just the start of the Fighting Irish's impressive closing stretch, as Smith's steal and Koehler's block on the defensive side proved to be almost as important as Duncomb's three.

They were the better team on both ends with the game on the line, and now they have a win heading into their next game against Mercyhurst on Thursday.

As for Villanova, it will look to bounce back Friday against Holy Cross.