Cardinal Robert Prevost's election as pope is giving Knicks fans a boost. He's the first American pontiff and, like Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, went to Villanova.

With their team up 2-0 on the Celtics, Knicks fans are fired up. But after learning of the new pope’s Villanova ties, they believe something special is going on.

The sports loyalties of Pope Leo XIV became a topic of conversation almost as soon as the white smoke emerged from the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.