Notre Dame rallies past Villanova 74-72 in Rome to open the college basketball season

Notre Dame beat Villanova 74-72 on Sunday at the Palazzo dello Sport in Rome, coming back after trailing for most of the second half in the first men's college basketball game of the season. Brady Koehler made the key baskets late and finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Villanova led 35-31 at halftime and still held the lead inside the final two minutes. Koehler's dunk cut it to one with 1:36 left. Then Logan Duncomb, a big man who had never made a 3-pointer in college, hit one with 1:08 to go for a 70-68 lead, Notre Dame's first of the half. Koehler made two free throws with four seconds left to make it 74-70.

The numbers behind the comeback

Braeden Smith also scored 16, and he did most of it at the line, going 10 for 11 on free throws. Braeden Shrewsberry added 15 and Ethan Roberts 11. Notre Dame shot only 35% from the field (23 of 65), but it made up for it with 17 offensive rebounds and 14 steals, against six for Villanova. The Irish went 19 of 25 at the line to Villanova's 13 of 18.

Villanova shot better, 46% overall, and Tyler Perkins led everyone with 18 points on five 3-pointers before fouling out with 16.3 seconds left. Elijah Crawford had 12 points and five assists, and Jake Fiegen scored 11. The Wildcats turned it over too often: Kwame Evans Jr. had five of their giveaways.

Luigi Suigo, the 7-foot-3 Italian making his Villanova debut in his home country, had seven points with two dunks and a 3-pointer.

Why it was in Rome

The Eternal City Tip-Off matched two Catholic universities about a half-hour from the Vatican, and both teams had an audience with Pope Leo XIV, a Villanova alumnus, on Saturday. Villanova fans made up most of the crowd. Neither team is in the preseason AP Top 25.

The result matters more for a Villanova program trying to get back to winning in March. The Wildcats have gone four years without an NCAA Tournament win, with a three-year absence after Jay Wright retired and a first-round loss to Utah State last season. Notre Dame, with 10 new players, now has a win over a Big East team before its home opener.

What to watch: Notre Dame hosts Mercyhurst on Thursday. Villanova opens at home against Holy Cross on Friday and plays La Salle four days later.