OXFORD - The first-round matchups and tournament bracket for the inaugural Cancun Governor's Cup were announced Thursday by ESPN Regional Television.

The holiday tournament will be held Dec. 22-24 at the Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Mexico. Conference USA will serve as the event's sponsoring conference.

Ole Miss will face Texas State in the first round on Wednesday, Dec. 22 at 5 p.m. CT. The winner advances to Thursday's second-round matchup against the winner between Appalachian State and Colorado State, televised by ESPNU. The championship game will be played Friday, Dec. 24, at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

The rest of the field includes East Tennessee State, Northeastern, Saint Louis and Southern Miss. Seven of the eight teams reached the 2009-10 postseason, including ETSU in the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss advanced to the National Invitation Tournament's final four, while Northeastern also played in the NIT. Colorado State and Saint Louis played in the College Basketball Invitational. Appalachian State and Southern Miss played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.

The 2010 Cancun Governor's Cup will feature 12 games through three days, Dec. 22-24. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format.

Ole Miss continues its tradition of participating in high-level, beachfront tournaments during the non-conference portion of its schedule. Since Andy Kennedy arrived at the helm, the Rebels have made two trips to San Juan, Puerto Rico (2007 and 2009), and played in Dayton Beach, Fla. (2008). The team has also competed in a single game in Biloxi, Miss., against Southern Miss (2008). Last year, Ole Miss lost to No. 5 Villanova in the championship game of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, while in 2007 the team won the San Juan Shootout title by beating No. 15 Clemson.

The Cancun Governor's Cup supports youth basketball initiatives in Mexico started by the Telmex Foundation and Mexican NBA star Eduardo Najera, which strives to bring the game of basketball to the youth of Mexico. Since 2007, when the league was created, 60,000 kids from across Mexico have participated. The Cancun Governor's Cup will annually offer tickets to the league for kids to experience collegiate basketball firsthand.

Tickets will go on sale later this summer. Additional information can be found on the Cancun Governor's Cup's official website: www.cancungovernorscup.com.