Villanova vs. Notre Dame betting: Odds, preview, picks, start time for Sunday college basketball from Rome

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The Eternal City Tip-Off in Rome pits Villanova against Notre Dame to start the 2026-27 college basketball season

Oct 31, 2026 at 5:00 pm ET • 4 min read

The Villanova Wildcats of the Big East will take on the ACC's Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Eternal City Tip-Off on Sunday, Nov. 1, in the holy city of Rome, Italy, to start the 2026-27 college basketball season. The teams obtained a waiver from the NCAA to start the season a day before the official start of Monday, Nov. 2. The event was set up in part to honor Pope Leo XIV, a 1977 graduate of Villanova, and will be played on All Saints' Day. The Wildcats are 7.5-point favorites in the latest Villanova vs. Notre Dame odds at DraftKings Sportsbook, and the Over/Under for points scored in the Eternal City Tip-off is 147.5. Sunday's tip-off is set for 9:30 a.m. ET at the Palazzo dello Sport. Bet on college basketball at DraftKings and get $200 in bonuses and three months of NBA League Pass when you spend $5+:

We're breaking down the latest Villanova vs. Notre Dame odds from DraftKings Sportsbook and highlighting our best bet. If you're interested in college basketball betting, check out the picks from our experts and the SportsLine Projection Model once the season begins.    

Villanova vs. Notre Dame betting odds (via DraftKings)

Villanova vs. Notre Dame money line:	Villanova -305, Notre Dame +245
Villanova vs. Notre Dame Over/Under:	147.5 (Over -108, Under -112)
Villanova vs. Notre Dame spread:	Villanova -7.5

Villanova vs. Notre Dame betting preview

The Wildcats went 24-8 last season, going 15-5 in the Big East, and lost 86-76 to Utah State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in their first year under coach Kevin Willard. Villanova also lost to Georgetown 74-68 in the conference title game, but it was a promising performance under Willard after Jay Wright's surprise retirement. There has been a ton of turnover as the coach tries to get his lineup set up for his style of play, and four of the top five scorers from 2025-26 are gone. That includes No. 2 Duke Brennan and No. 3 Bryce Lindsay. Guard Tyler Perkins, who led the team in averaging 13.7 points and added 5.4 rebounds per game and was named the Big East's Most Improved Player, will be back to lead the offense. 

Willard will also be looking to 7-foot-3 Italian center Luigi Suigo to make a major impact. This could be his only season at Villanova, as he is projected to soon be an NBA lottery pick. The 19-year-old big man played in Serbia last season and averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18 minutes per game. Other top arrivals include Devin Royal (13.7 points, 5.7 rebounds at Ohio State last season), Jake Fiegen (17.1 points, 5.1 rebounds at Cornell) and Elijah Crawford (14.1 points, 4.9 assists at Illinois-Chicago). The Wildcats averaged 77.1 points (fifth in Big East) and 34.2 rebounds (ninth) last season.   

Notre Dame also will have a new look this season, as coach Micah Shrewsberry's team lost a lot of players to transfers and replaced them with his own raid on the portal. Top scorers Markus Burton (Indiana) and Jalen Haralson (Tennessee) are gone from a team that finished 13-18 last season and went 4-14 in the ACC. That's almost 35 points of scoring lost, and Shrewsberry, who is 41-56 in three seasons leading the Fighting Irish, is looking to rebuild the offense. Former Penn sharpshooter Ethan Roberts and Braeden Shrewsberry (the coach's son) will play key roles. Roberts averaged 16.9 points and shot 40.4 percent from 3-point range for the Quakers last season, while Shrewsberry scored 11.9 points and made 40.2 percent from long range for the Irish. 

Veteran point guard Braeden Smith from Gonzaga was Patriot League Player of the Year as a sophomore at Colgate in 2023-24 before playing sporadically for the Bulldogs last season and averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 assists. Reigning Big South Player of the Year Logan Duncomb and Bryce Dortch (Rutgers) also join the mix for the Irish. The 6-foot-9 Bryce adds needed size, while Duncomb averaged 18.3 points per game at Winthrop last year. The Irish scored 74.5 points per game last season (14th in ACC) and  36.6 rebounds (eighth).

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Villanova vs. Notre Dame picks, prediction

Villanova -7.5

Although both rosters have been almost totally revamped, the Wildcats are the superior team, and Suigo gives them size that the Irish won't be able to match. This should be a lower-scoring game with the travel, the novelty of being in Rome and the myriad activities scheduled over the weekend almost making the game an afterthought. Willard won't let it affect his team too much, and his side appears to have all the advantages as it looks to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame has the shooters, but on a trip like this for their first official game action of the season, those shooters could be cool to start things off. Suigo should get plenty of easy looks and should crash the boards to give Nova numerous second (and third) chances.