Notre Dame Beats Villanova in Men's and Women's Games Opening College Basketball Season in Rome
Photo: APNotre Dame swept Villanova in a college basketball doubleheader in Rome on Sunday that opened the season. The Fighting Irish rallied late to win the men's game 74-72, and the No. 13 Notre Dame women won 99-75. The two-game event, called the Eternal City Tip-Off, was created to honor Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope and a Villanova graduate. He did not attend the games. The day before, on Saturday, he received all four teams at the Vatican. Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo starred in the women's game.
At the Vatican, Leo told an audience of about 7,000 players, coaches, fans and family members from both schools that the pontiff is neutral in sport. He added that his former self, Robert Prevost, might disagree. Villanova had the pope's support and many more traveling fans, and many wore Wildcats jerseys reading "Pope Leo" with the number XIV. Notre Dame men's coach Micah Shrewsberry called the trip one of the top experiences of his career and said two preseason road games helped prepare his team for loud Villanova fans.
The right-leaning Washington Times, in the excerpt available, frames the event as a Catholic showcase that Notre Dame won on the court. It shares the pope-support-versus-result contrast but offers no pope or coach quotes and no scores, so the details are limited. The left-leaning CBS News leads with the same contrast but adds more: the late comeback score, the women's result, the Vatican audience, the pope's neutrality remark and Shrewsberry's comments. Both sides agree on the central point that papal backing and a larger Villanova crowd did not produce a win. The difference lies mainly in depth and detail. The alternative-side AP, which shares the same opening, separately names Hannah Hidalgo and the No. 13 ranking of the Notre Dame women.
How the sides differ Left sources add quotes from Pope Leo and coach Micah Shrewsberry; right sources give a brief result, and alternative sources highlight Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo.
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CBS News leads with Villanova's papal support and Notre Dame's late comeback, then adds the women's score, Pope Leo's Vatican remarks about neutrality and coach Micah Shrewsberry's comments.
AP opens with the same papal-support-versus-result framing as the others and highlights Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo starring in the women's game, with the Irish ranked No. 13.
The Washington Times presents the games as a Catholic showcase in Rome that Notre Dame won, opening with Villanova's papal support and larger traveling crowd, with little further detail in its excerpt.