GAME: No. 13 Texas-El Paso (24-7) vs. No. 4 Maryland (19-11).
REGIONAL: Phoenix, First round.
TIME: Thursday, 12:40 p.m. EST.
SITE: Pepsi Center; Denver, Colo.
Maryland beat three ranked teams in three days to win the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
Coach Gary Williams is hoping the late-season success translates into another magical March.
"We spent time every day talking about how we were getting better," Williams said. "It didn't always show because of the teams we were playing in this league. You don't always get the reward of winning all the time."
The Terrapins begin their quest for a second national championship in three years as they take on Texas-El Paso in the first round of the tournament.
Maryland has made the NCAA tournament for the 11th straight season. The Terps have advanced to at least the Regional Semifinals in five of the last six seasons.
Maryland was on the NCAA tournament bubble just a few weeks ago before point guard John Gilchrist put the team on his shoulders and led them to their first ACC tournament title in 20 years.
Gilchrist made the game-winning free throw in a quarterfinal win over No. 17 Wake Forest, scored a career-high 30 points in a semifinal win over No. 15 North Carolina State and capped his brilliant tournament performance with 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting in Sunday's 95-87 win over No. 6 Duke in the championship game.
"I would say the last 10 years we've had some pretty good teams," Williams said. "I didn't expect it this year, to be honest. I saw the way we were playing on Friday. We had our legs and we had enthusiasm."
Maryland won the national championship in 2002 behind the senior leadership of Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter and Byron Mouton. This year's roster has a much younger look, featuring a combination of nine freshmen and sophomores.
Gilchrist, a 6-foot-3 sophomore, earned ACC tournament MVP honors. He leads Maryland with 15.6 points and 4.9 assists per game. Forward Jamar Smith is the teams top low-post presence, averaging 12.9 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds a game.
The Terps will need more than just Gilchrist and the 6-foot-9 Smith to make a long run in the tournament.
Forward Nik Caner-Medley averaged just 7.3 points on 5-for-14 shooting during the ACC tournament and sixth man D.J. Strawberry sprained his ankle in the title game against Duke. Caner-Medley averaged 12.4 points during the regular season and Strawberry is one of the Terps' top defenders.
The Miners are making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1992. That year, Texas-El Paso upset top-seeded Kansas 66-60 in the second round before losing to Cincinnati in the Regional Semifinals.
The Miners went 24-7 to capture the Western Athletic Conference regular season title after going just 3-15 in conference play last season. UTEP came up short in its conference tournament, losing to Nevada 66-60 in the championship game on Saturday.
The Miners have four players averaging double figures in scoring, led by forward Omar Thomas' 15.3 points per game. Jason Williams is second with 11.6 per contest.
The Miners are 2-0 all-time against the Terps, beating Maryland during the 1967-68 and 1988-89 seasons. The Miners have not faced an ACC school since their last win over Maryland.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Texas-El Paso - F Roy Smallwood (8.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg), F Williams (11.6 ppg and 6.0 rpg), C John Tofi (10.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg), G Chris Craig (9.0 ppg and 2.4 rpg), G Filberto Rivera (11.2 ppg and 4.7 apg). Maryland - F Caner-Medley (12.4 ppg and 4.9 rpg), F Travis Garrison (7.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg), C Smith (12.9 ppg and 8.9 rpg), G Gilchrist (15.6 ppg and 4.9 apg), G Chris McCray (10.8 ppg and 1.6 spg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Texas-El Paso - At-large berth. Maryland - Automatic bid, Atlantic Coast Conference champion.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Texas-El Paso - 14-13, 14 years. Maryland - 33-18, 19 years.
