The 2026-27 college basketball season starts with a twist Sunday: Villanova and Notre Dame will tip off in Rome, Italy, at Palazzo dello Sport, with the opener arriving a day earlier than normal after the NCAA granted special clearance for the matchup.
It’s a game that has been in the works for months. CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander first reported it earlier this year, and the NCAA quietly approved a waiver in January to make the one-day head start possible. Once the men’s game wraps up, Notre Dame’s women’s team will also take on Villanova.
There’s plenty of symbolism wrapped into the trip. Villanova and Notre Dame are both major private Catholic schools with ties to Pope Leo XIV.
Robert Francis Prevost is a 1977 Villanova alumnus, while Notre Dame is widely considered the most prominent Catholic institution of higher learning in the world. Notre Dame also has an outpost in Rome.
The men’s matchup is breaking new ground in a couple of ways, too. It is believed to be the first men’s season opener ever played on foreign soil and the first regular-season Division I basketball game in Italy. The game will be held at Palazzetto dello Sport, a building that has stood since the 1950s and seats about 3,500 for basketball.
The Pope’s appearance remains uncertain, even with the venue roughly 30 minutes from Vatican City. On Saturday, he held a private audience with all four teams and their traveling fans, with about 7,000 people expected in the Paul VI audience hall inside the Vatican.
Notre Dame enters the season in a very different place than Villanova. The Fighting Irish were hit hard by the transfer portal, losing their three leading scorers from last season: Markus Burton, Jalen Haralson and Cole Certa.
With a roster full of new faces and the program sitting on the edge of its longest NCAA Tournament drought since the 1990s, Micah Shrewsberry has real pressure on him in Year 4. Beating a Villanova team that won 24 games last season would be a strong way to begin.
Villanova, meanwhile, arrives with plenty of intrigue of its own. Even after losing star point guard Acaden Lewis to the portal, the Wildcats have drawn confidence from the roster they’re bringing into the year.
Tyler Perkins is expected to have a big season, and 7-foot-3 freshman Luigi Suigo will be one of the more interesting names to watch - especially with the big man set to play in his home country of Italy and carrying the nickname “Italian Wemby.” He’s also a player to keep in mind for the 2027 NBA Draft.
That’s part of why the lean here points toward Villanova on a neutral floor far from either campus. Notre Dame has too many unknowns, while the Wildcats look more settled heading into the opener. The expectation is for a tight game for much of the night before Villanova creates separation late.
Pick: Villanova -7.5
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