ATLANTA — From worst to first.
In four days.
Four days that included a tornado hitting the Georgia Dome, a venue change, a team playing twice in one day and 3,700 fans at Sunday’s championship game. And, somehow, the Georgia Bulldogs caused the most unlikely scene of all.
The Bulldogs won four conference games all season. They won three in 30 hours at the SEC tournament and four overall, culminating in a 66-57 win over Arkansas at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
Georgia (17-16), the only No. 6 seed to even advance to the title game, won its first SEC championship since 1983 and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The 14th-seeded Bulldogs will face third-seeded Xavier on Thursday in Washington, D.C.
“Glory, glory to ole Georgia, baby,” senior guard and tournament MVP Sundiata Gaines said. “We’re going dancing. We’re going dancing.”
The other 14 seeds are Cornell, Boise State and Cal-State Fullerton. But the Bulldogs didn’t seem to mind as the coliseum video board displayed the NCAA matchups.
“I wasn’t expecting to see our name up there a week ago,” Georgia forward Albert Jackson said. “It’s amazing. And to do it at Georgia Tech makes it a little bit better.”
The week started with coach Dennis Felton answering questions about his job security after Georgia finished the regular season last in the SEC East with a 4-12 record. The Bulldogs lost 11 of their last 13 games entering the postseason.
It ended with Felton swinging a net from a ladder at rival Georgia Tech’s coliseum as Georgia fans roared their approval in a surreal scene. The tournament moved to Georgia Tech after a tornado damaged the Georgia Dome on Friday night.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever have an experience that daunting and that successful,” Felton said.
The venue change forced the Bulldogs to play twice Saturday after they beat Kentucky, almost like a pick-up game where the winner stays on the court.
And Georgia’s still got next.
“Crazy. Wild,” said guard Billy Humphrey when asked to describe the week, then grinned as he played with the net hanging around his neck. “And worth it.”
Humphrey said winning four games in four days wasn’t too daunting when compared with the adversity Georgia faced all season. Felton dismissed the team’s two leading scorers, Mike Mercer and Takais Brown. Humphrey was arrested twice in less than three months. Jackson was suspended. The Bulldogs, down to nine scholarship players, lost several close games.
But they finally started to finish those tight games in Atlanta. Dave Bliss made a last-second shot to beat Ole Miss in overtime as Thursday night turned into Friday morning. They won again in overtime against Kentucky when backup point guard Zac Swansey drained a 3-pointer. Later in the day, Georgia toppled SEC West champion Mississippi State.
Georgia raced to a 30-11 lead against Arkansas and didn’t buckle when the Razorbacks cut the lead to three with 4:18 remaining. Neither team scored again until the smaller Bulldogs grabbed three offensive rebounds, culminating in a Jackson dunk off a Gaines assist.
With 1:36 remaining, Gaines penetrated then dished the ball out to Humphrey at the top of the key. Humphrey drained the 3-pointer, giving Georgia a 63-54 lead and sending the 2,000 or so fans in red and black into hysterics.
Even Arkansas coach John Pelphrey said he appreciated the moment, despite his disappointment.
“That’s kind of what makes this time of year pretty special,” he said.
The Bulldogs would agree. Gaines and Dave Bliss, two seniors who endured the worst of Felton’s rebuilding project, get a chance to play in their first NCAA tournament.
“We made it, baby. We made it,” Bliss said, hugging Gaines.
Felton gets to keep his job, according to Georgia athletic director Damon Evans. And Georgia gets to keep playing, starting with nationally-ranked Xavier on Thursday.
“Hey,” Gaines said, “anything is possible now.”
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