No. 13 Texas El Paso (24-7) at No. 4 Maryland (19-11) 12:40 pm EST

DENVER (Ticker) -- Fourth-seeded Maryland takes a five-game winning streak and serious momentum into the Phoenix Region when it meets No. 13 Texas-El Paso in a first-round matchup.

Maryland (19-11) earned its 11th straight NCAA Tournament bid in convincing fashion by capturing its first Atlantic Coast Conference title in 20 years. The Terrapins knocked off the top three seeds with wins over Wake Forest, North Carolina State and Duke to end the Blue Devils' five-year reign as champions.

Point guard John Gilchrist was named tournament MVP for an outstanding performance. Gilchrist scored a career-high 30 points as Maryland rallied from 21 down in the semifinals against North Carolina State and netted 26 in the overtime win over Duke.

The Terrapins, the 2002 national champions, have reached the "Sweet 16" or better the last three years.

Texas-El Paso (24-7) had its best basketball moment in school history on Maryland's campus. The Miners, then known as Texas Western, captured the 1966 national championship with a memorable victory over Kentucky at the Terrapins' Cole Field House.

The Miners are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1992 after registering only six wins a year ago. Part of the reason for the turnaround has been junior college All-Americans Filiberto Rivera and Omar Thomas, who each have double-figure scoring averages.

UTEP leads the series, 2-0.

The winner will face Syracuse or Brigham Young in the second round.