ROME (AP) — They’ve been blessed by the pope. And now it’s finally time for some hoops.
The Villanova and Notre Dame men’s and women’s teams are meeting in a doubleheader in Rome on Sunday to open the college basketball season.
The event, dubbed the Eternal City Tip-Off, was created to honor the first American pope.
Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV received all four teams in an audience at the Vatican on Saturday.
Leo told the teams from his alma mater Villanova and fellow Catholic university Notre Dame that in matters of sport, the pontiff is neutral.
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 whooping, cheering audience of 7,000 people from both schools — players, coaches, fans and their families — in the Vatican audience hall.
Inside the basketball arena, many Villanova fans wore Wildcats jerseys featuring the name of “Pope Leo” and a “XIV” for the number.
Leo graduated in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from Villanova, the Augustinian school near Philadelphia. He was born in Chicago — not all that far from Notre Dame, which is located in South Bend, Indiana.
Villanova fans also held aloft a banner featuring Pope Leo depicted wearing a Villanova jersey reaching out to the university's president, the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, in a playful scene reminiscent of Michelangelo’s fresco in the Sistine Chapel.
The games are being played at the 11,000-seat Palazzo dello Sport, which is located about a half-hour drive from the Vatican.
While Leo, who underwent lung cancer surgery last month, was not expected to attend the games, a contingent of cardinals and other Vatican officials was expected at the arena.
The schools also brought their team chaplains to Rome.
The men’s game started at 3:30 p.m. local (9:30 a.m. EST) and is being shown on Fox with Bill Raftery as the analyst. The women’s game, which features the only ranked team of the day in No. 13 Notre Dame, is scheduled for 6 p.m. (noon EST) on FS1.
The games are being played on All Saints’ Day — a major Catholic holiday.
Before tipoff, there was a moment of prayer and the U.S. and Italian national anthems were sung.
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