College Basketball

Brady Koehler scored key baskets down the stretch and Notre Dame made a late comeback after trailing for most of the second half to beat Villanova 74-72 in the college basketball season opener in Rome on Sunday. Villanova standout Tyler Perkins fouled out with 16.3 seconds to go. He led the Wildcats with 18 points. The event — dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off — included an audience with Villanova alumnus […]

The Villanova Wildcats face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. ET from Palazzo dello Sport in Rome. The game is part of the Eternal City Tip-Off and opens the season for both teams. Villanova's last game was an 86-76 loss to Utah State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 20. Notre Dame closed last season with a 77-69 loss […]

There's no room for favoritism in the Vatican. That's what Pope Leo XIV told the basketball teams from Villanova and Notre Dame ahead of their highly-anticipated doubleheader in Rome. Then the pope, who was born Robert Prevost, said his former self might disagree. "Prevost has another opinion, but we won’t do that now," he said to laughs during a cheering audience of 7,000 people from both schools — players, coaches, fans and their families — […]

UConn coach Dan Hurley has signed a two-year extension that puts him under contract through the 2031-32 season and maintains his annual salary of roughly $8 million, the school announced Friday. Hurley signed his previous deal after back-to-back national championships in 2024 and after he turned down an offer to become the head coach of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. That agreement made him the second-highest paid coach in college […]

The NCAA was denied emergency relief by a Kentucky Court of Appeals judge Friday, leaving eligible a host of college athletes as the basketball season is about to begin until a panel of three judges can consider the governing body's request for relief. The 30 athletes involved, including Missouri basketball player Mark Mitchell and LSU's Skyy Clark, received a temporary injunction Oct. 16 to compete while the NCAA appealed a […]

College athletes are compensated, local judges are determining eligibility, the NCAA Tournament doors are widening. If we've learned anything about college sports in the last few years, nothing is sacred. Name, image and likeness went into effect in the early 2020s, allowing athletes to sign endorsement deals and use their platform to get paid or partner with third-party NIL collectives. Then, in June 2025, the House vs. NCAA settlement allowed […]

As Villanova and Notre Dame prepare to meet in the Eternal City Tip-Off Nov. 1 in Rome, Italy, both men's basketball programs are in peculiar spots. The Wildcats haven't won an NCAA Tournament game since their 2022 Final Four run. For the Irish, it's been almost 10 years, as their last deep March Madness run was a 2016 Sweet 16 appearance. The days of legendary head coaches Jay Wright and […]

The college basketball coaching carousel was active this offseason. Will Wade is back at LSU. Michael Malone is bringing NBA championship pedigree to a blue blood. The reigning national champion, Michigan, lost its coach to the pros. And several other top programs are putting their trust in former mid-major coaches. Those moves will have a major impact on the 2026-27 season. Here's a look at the coaching changes that could […]

The 2026-27 men's college basketball season will be kicked off overseas. Villanova and Notre Dame will face off in the Eternal City Tip-Off outside the Vatican in Rome, Italy, at 9:30 a.m. ET on Nov. 1. Many programs have embarked on European tours in recent offseasons. Countries such as England, Ireland and Germany have hosted regular-season matchups and tournaments, but this will be the first college basketball matchup of consequence […]