Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 11/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Sunday, November 1, 2026

Location: Palazzo dello Sport in Rome, Italy

TV: Fox

Odds/Point Spread: Notre Dame (+7.5)

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-18 last year) are on their way to Palazzo dello Sport on Sunday where they will compete against the Villanova Wildcats (24-9 last season). Villanova is 7.5-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total comes in at 147.5.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish faced Boston College and went home with a loss by a final score of 77-69 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Fighting Irish walked away with 30 while Boston College finished the game with 19 personal fouls. They knocked down 6 out of their 28 attempts from distance. Boston College finished the contest at 75.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 31 of their 41 shots. In addition, Boston College collected 40 rebounds (6 offensive, 34 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Boston College doled out 10 dimes and had 8 steals for this game. In terms of defending, Notre Dame allowed the other team to go 36.4% from the floor on 20 out of 55 shooting. They also doled out 10 assists in the matchup as well as creating 9 turnovers and getting 4 steals. In the matter of getting rebounds, they collected 33 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Fighting Irish knocked down 14 of 21 tries for a rate of 66.7%. Notre Dame walked away from the game with a 35.5% field goal percentage (22 out of 62) and converted 11 of their 35 three-point attempts.

Jalen Haralson is one guy who was a major factor in this contest. He recorded 21 points on 7 of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 30 minutes played and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He ended up going 63.6% from the floor and also dished out 2 assists.

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Notre Dame will play this contest after finishing with a mark of 13-18 last year. They gave up possession 11.5 times per contest and as a squad committed 17.9 personal fouls every game. As a team, Notre Dame grabbed 36.6 boards per game and had 380 dimes last season, which had them ranked 318th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Fighting Irish hit on 35.6% on 3-pointers (279 of 783) and 69.7% from the charity stripe. They averaged 74.5 points per contest (220th in Division 1) while connecting on 44.5% from the field.

When they were on the defensive end, the Fighting Irish forced 9.5 turnovers per game and they drew 18.1 personal fouls. They were ranked 164th in college in giving up assists with 434 conceded last season. The Fighting Irish defense gave up a shooting percentage of 43.9% (784 of 1,785) and they conceded 33.6 boards per contest as a team. They relinquished 33.2% on three-point shots while they were 223rd in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (75.3).

In their last game, the Villanova Wildcats took a loss by a final score of 86-76 against Utah State. The Wildcats collected 15 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 25 in the game. They also coughed it up 8 times, while getting 6 steals in this contest. Utah State was called for 14 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for 13 attempts. They were able to make 6 of the free throws for a rate of 46.2%. In terms of three-point attempts, Villanova made 14 out of their 30 tries (46.7%). At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats walked away from this one shooting 28 out of 63 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.4%. The Wildcats allowed Utah State to make 28 out of 51 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 54.9% for this contest. They finished 12.5% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 2 of 16 and finished the contest at 28 of 36 at the free throw line (77.8%). Regarding rebounds, Villanova permitted Utah State to pull down 34 overall (8 on the offensive glass).

Bryce Lindsay ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats in this matchup. He earned 25 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 3 dimes for this contest. He knocked down 9 out of 18 for the game for a rate of 50.0%, and had 3 rebounds.

Villanova had a record of 24-9 last year. On the offensive side of the court, the Wildcats shot 45.6% from the field, which ranked them 155th in the nation. Villanova scored 2,545 points throughout last season (77.1 per contest) and they averaged 34.2 boards per contest. They assisted teammates 15.5 times per game (84th in college) and they turned it over 10.1 times per game. The Wildcats committed 16.2 fouls per contest while shooting 68.9% from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats on defense were ranked 105th in college hoops in PPG given up with 71.2. They were able to force 12.5 turnovers per game and let teams shoot 45.3% from the floor (249th in college hoops). The Villanova defense allowed 33.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (232 of 694) and their opponents knocked down 72.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They conceded 18.7 dimes and 34.8 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 296th and 206th in Division 1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Notre Dame (+7.5)

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