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The Villanova Wildcats take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Rome, Italy. Tip-off is set for 9:30 a.m. ET on FOX.
Villanova is favored by -7.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -305. The total is set at 147.5 points.
Here’s my Villanova vs. Notre Dame prediction and college basketball picks for November 1, 2026.
Villanova vs Notre Dame Prediction
My Pick: Under 147.5 (Play to 146.5)
My Villanova vs Notre Dame best bet is on the under. Be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page and download the Action Network app for the latest picks and analysis.
Villanova vs Notre Dame Odds
- Villanova vs Notre Dame spread: Villanova -7.5 (-110), Notre Dame +7.5 (-110)
- Villanova vs Notre Dame over/under: 147.5 (-108o / -112u)
- Villanova vs Notre Dame moneyline: Villanova -305, Notre Dame +245
Villanova vs Notre Dame College Basketball Preview
Micah Shrewsberry can use a big season in South Bend. After missing the NCAA Tournament in his first three seasons, what better way to change the public perception than beating Villanova in a standalone game?
The Fighting Irish went 1-1 during exhibition season, beating DePaul and losing to Dayton. It’s worth noting that starting center Logan Duncomb played just four minutes against DePaul and didn’t play against Dayton. No updates on his status are public right now, but the Irish need him.
With almost a wholly new roster, Shrewsberry has to find an identity, and shooting feels like it’s the way for the Irish.
The Fighting Irish will trot out a starting five of Braeden Smith (Gonzaga transfer), Braeden Shrewsberry (11.9 PPG), Ethan Roberts (Penn transfer), Brady Koehler (5.6 PPG) and Duncomb (Winthrop transfer), or Tommy Ahneman if Duncomb can’t play.
That all comes back to shooting. Four of those guys can hit shots from 3 at a reliable clip. Smith shot 36% from 3 last year, Roberts shot 40%, Shrewsberry shot 40% and Koehler shot 36%.
That’ll force Villanova to put an emphasis on defending the arc, but I’m not sure it’ll have to worry much about any of those guys creating shots.
That’s the drawback here. Shooting is awesome, but when most of the team isn’t very athletic and can’t create their own shots, everything has to come within the flow of the offense, which can be hard to find in game one.
Defending the rim was a sore spot for Notre Dame the past two seasons, and I think it’ll be an issue again. Duncomb isn’t out there for his rim protection; he’s more of an offensive weapon.
In all, Notre Dame would be wise to slow the game down. Shrewsberry tends to play a more deliberate pace anyway. The Irish lack the athleticism to go up-and-down for 40 minutes.
Kevin Willard led Villanova to the NCAA Tournament in his first season on campus in Philly. Usually, that doesn’t sound like a good thing, but the Kyle Neptune era was so bad that just making the Big Dance was a step in the right direction.
Last year, the Wildcats had a seven-man rotation and had two ways to score: Acaden Lewis pick-and-rolls leading to 3s and Duke Brennan offensive rebounds. Both of them are gone to Miami and Oklahoma, respectively, so how will Villanova play?
This year’s team has more size and depth, which should allow for better defense. Although Kwame Evans Jr. (Oregon transfer) missed all three exhibitions, he should play in the opener.
If he starts, that’ll push Devin Royal (Ohio State transfer) to the three and 7-foot-3 Italian Luigi Suigo to the five. Then at the two guard spots, it should be returning top scorer Tyler Perkins (13 PPG) and Elijah Crawford (UIC transfer).
With Royal at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds matching with Roberts, he should have a field day. Roberts will give up a ton of strength to the burly Royal.
Notre Dame needs Duncomb to play well to suck in the defense and help open up shooters, but Suigo is 7-foot-3, long and agile. I can’t see Duncomb playing well, which will affect Notre Dame’s offense in a big way.
In all, the Wildcats don’t need to be overly focused on shooting. Perkins and Crawford can shoot, and bench guards Darryl Simmons II and Jake Fiegen can shoot. Willard didn’t want to shoot as much as he did last year, but he had no choice.
He has the bigs to score inside this year.
I want the under. In three of Willard’s last four seasons, his teams ranked 294th, 302nd and 326th in adjusted tempo, with a 64th-place finish in his final season at Maryland.
He should return more to his defensive roots and hope for a hard-nosed rock fight.
Meanwhile, just one team in Shrewsberry’s five seasons as a college basketball head coach finished inside the top-300 in adjusted tempo. I expect the Irish to shoot a bunch of 3s, but just how many will fall against an improved Nova defense?
Give me the under.
My Pick: Under 147.5 (Play to 146.5)