South Bend, IN (My Sportsbook) - The seventh-ranked Notre Dame Fighting are set for what appears to be a serious mismatch, as they welcome the South Dakota Coyotes to South Bend.

South Dakota competes at the Division II level. The team is 3-4 on the season after going 1-1 at the West Texas A&M Tournament last weekend. On Saturday, the Coyotes dropped a 77-76 decision to the host team, and the level of competition increases tremendously this evening.

Notre Dame's only loss this season came against top-ranked North Carolina by a 102-87 final last week. Fortunately, the club was able to bounce back strong with a 93-61 decision over Furman. The Fighting Irish beat Texas, which was ranked sixth at the time, by one point and crushed Indiana by 38.

This game marks the first-ever meeting between South Dakota and Notre Dame on the hardwood.

Through seven outings, South Dakota is scoring 74.4 ppg while allowing 72.7 ppg to opponents. The Coyotes are led by Tyler Cain, who is netting 16.1 ppg on the strength of his 59 percent shooting from the floor. Cain is also ripping down 11.1 rpg, and he leads the team in both blocks (15) and steals (14). Louie Krogman checks in with 15.1 ppg, and Jesse Becker adds 12.6 ppg. Rounding out the foursome is Dylan Grimsley with 11.6 ppg. Becker was sensational for South Dakota in the narrow loss to West Texas A&M on Saturday, as he finished with 30 points and six assists in 40 minutes of action. Cain tallied 16 points and nine rebounds, while Krogman pitched in with 14 points. Grimsley finished with 10 points for the Coyotes, who got only six points total from their bench.

Notre Dame is led by the sensational duo of Luke Harangody and Kyle McAlarney. The reigning Big East Conference Player of the Year, Harangody is scoring 22.6 ppg to go along with 11.2 rpg. Unfortunately, Harangody was held out of action because of pneumonia in the most recent game against Furman, and it remains to be seen when he will be healthy enough to return to the lineup. McAlarney checks in with 19.7 ppg on 50.8 percent shooting from three-point range, and he has hit all 10 of his foul shots thus far. While those two players receive most of the attention from opponents, there are other capable contributors on the roster. Tory Jackson checks in with 14.3 ppg, and he is dishing out 5.7 apg. Ryan Ayers rounds out a foursome of double-digit scorers with 10.0 ppg. Notre Dame is generating 84.7 ppg while limiting foes to 67.5 ppg. In the 32- point romp over Furman, McAlarney drilled 9-of-17 shots from behind the arc and finished with 32 points. Ayers tallied 19 points, and Jackson added 17 points in the absence of Harangody.