The drama that has enveloped college basketball's trying offseason carried over onto the floor in Italy in the opening game of the 2026-27 season Sunday. Notre Dame erased a 10-point, second-half hole to stun Villanova 74-72 in the Eternal City Tip-Off at Palazzo dello Sport in Rome. The Fighting Irish trailed 60-50 with 10:24 to go after Villanova lefty guard Tyler Perkins drilled his fourth triple of the second half before Brady Koehler, point guard Braeden Smith and oft-injured big man Logan Duncomb rallied down the stretch with big plays on both ends of the floor.
Duncomb got off the mat after a scoreless first half to deliver nine points, including the go-ahead triple (the first 3-pointer of his career) with 68 ticks left. Smith, who was overwhelmed by Villanova's length and athleticism in the first half, delivered with craftiness and grit in the second half. The diminutive Gonzaga transfer beat Villanova at its own game.
He clearly went to the Jay Wright School of Shot Fakes. Smith finished with 16 points, including a 10-for-11 showing at the charity stripe. Notre Dame needed every single freebie it could muster down the stretch.
But it's Koehler's performance that may change the calculus for the Fighting Irish this season. The 6-10 forward looks every bit the part of Notre Dame's best player and should get a sniff as a 2027 NBA Draft prospect. Koehler finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, all while battling some iffy foul trouble.
Koehler has real size, length, athleticism and fluidity to be a five-tool player. He lunged to the corner to block Kwame Evans' potential go-ahead triple. He contested Elijah Crawford's potential game-tying jumper in the final seconds before corralling the defensive rebound and icing the victory with a pair of free throws with less than five seconds to go.
The sophomore breakout has arrived, and Shrewsberry believes it's here to stay. BIG TIME BRADY KOEHLER!!!!! pic.twitter.com/PRcJTXOoQV For Villanova coach Kevin Willard, it's the type of showing that takes the sails out of the "Villanova is a no-doubt Top 25 team with top-15 upside" case. Thankfully, it's Nov. 1 (I know this only because the rent was due), so there's a long runway to improve, but this team has a lot of work to do.
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