{
  "id": 17644219,
  "title": "Notre Dame beats Villanova 74-72 in men’s college basketball season opener in Rome",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/notre-dame-beats-villanova-74-72-in-mens-college-basketball-season",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-01T17:23:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Winnipeg Free Press",
    "slug": "winnipeg-free-press",
    "url": "https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/uncategorized/2026/11/01/notre-dame-beats-villanova-74-70-in-mens-college-basketball-season-opener-in-rome"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Brady Koehler scored crucial baskets late in the game and Notre Dame secured a 74-72 victory over Villanova in the college basketball season opener in Rome on Sunday. Despite trailing for most of the second half, the Fighting Irish staged a remarkable comeback. Villanova's standout Tyler Perkins fouled out with 16.3 seconds left, leading the Wildcats with 18 points. Koehler and Braeden Smith scored 16 points each for Notre Dame, who also featured 10 new players. Koehler's dunk reduced the Wildcats' lead to one point with 1:36 remaining, and Logan Duncomb's 3-pointer with 1:08 left gave Notre Dame its first lead of the second half, 70-68. Koehler sealed the win with two free throws to put the Fighting Irish up 74-70 with just 4 seconds remaining. Villanova, unranked in the preseason AP Top 25, is aiming for a revival after four years without winning an NCAA Tournament game following the sudden retirement of coach Jay Wright and a first-round loss to Utah State last season. The nonconference game between the two Catholic universities was held at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport, about a half-hour drive from the Vatican. It is part of a doubleheader, with a women's game between the two schools following. Notre Dame will face another Catholic school, Mercyhurst, at home on Thursday, while Villanova has two more Catholic schools to play in their next two games: Holy Cross in their home opener on Friday and La Salle four days later.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}