Villanova loses tight battle to Fighting Irish in Rome: Postgame 11/1

Villanova went into tonight with high aspirations for a key win in the non-conference slate to start the year. That didn't happen, but there are plenty of takeaways to go with the loss. It is early, and you aren't going to go undefeated.

Tyler Perkins led the way for the Wildcats with 18 points. Perkins showed his talent from the 3-point line, sinking 5 on 11 shots. He also grabbed 4 rebounds and 2 assists, proving he will once again be the player the Wildcats run the offense around. Devin Royal’s debut was highly anticipated, but he struggled to produce anything noteworthy offensively, ot taking one shot and 5 free throws made. He did make a big impact on the glass with 8 rebounds, but Royal was expected to do more than what he put up tonight. The other anticipated debut for Nova tonight was Luigi Sugio. The 7-foot-3 center knocked down 3 shots and made 1 free throw for 7 points. He shot with high efficiency at 50% and also knocked down a surprise 3.

Elijah Crawford came off the bench and was their second-leading scorer with 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting.

Defensively and late was where this team struggled. Brady Koehler dominated late and allowed Notre Dame to pull out a win. Tyler Perkins fouled out with 16.3 seconds to go. Kohler and Braeden Smith led the Irish with 16 points apiece. With 1:36 left, Logan Duncomb hit a 3-pointer to give Notre Dame the lead and never looked back. Duncomb made a huge impact in his first game with the Irish after transferring from Winthrop

Villanova’s next game is at home on Friday against a much weaker Holy Cross team where they will be in search of their first win of the young season.