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The New Pope's Favorite College Basketball Team Is Clear

Originally posted on The Spun | By Chris Rosvoglou | Last updated May 8, 2025 4:34 PM ET

Sports fans appear to be taking an interest in the newest pope, American Cardinal Robert Prevost.

Prevost was named Pope Francis' successor on Thursday. After selecting the name Pope Leo XIV, he addressed the public from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. As he was delivering his first speech as the leader of the Catholic Church, people started digging into his background.

People found it fascinating that Pope Leo XIV received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics at Villanova University. Naturally, that led to fans speculating about his favorite college basketball.

Though it's not really a huge surprise, Pope Leo XIV supports his alma mater - on and off the hardwood.

College basketball fans went through Pope Leo XIV's account and noticed that he celebrated Villanova's national title victory in 2016.

On April 4, 2016, Villanova defeated North Carolina in the national championship game on a buzzer-beater from Kris Jenkins. It was one of the best finishes in the history of March Madness.

Pope Leo XIV reposted this message on social media after the Villanova-UNC game went final: "With buzzer win over UNC, Augustinian-run Villanova becomes first Catholic NCAA Champ since Cats' 1st title run in 1985."

Here's the proof:

pic.twitter.com/ieojnFpEZP
— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) May 8, 2025

The past few years have been pretty brutal for Villanova to say the least. The program hasn't participated in the NCAA Tournament since the 2021-2022 season.

Following a disappointing 2024-25 season, Villanova fired Kyle Neptune and replaced him with Kevin Willard.

Maybe, just maybe, Pope Leo XIV will bring good fortune to Villanova's basketball team.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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