ATLANTA — Georgia lingered on the home court of its bitter rival, even after cutting down the nets and donning the hats and T-shirts of a championship weekend. The Bulldogs wanted to find out where they would be playing next.

Imagine that.

Georgia is heading to the NCAA tournament.

After enduring a tornado, a change of venue and a doubleheader, the gritty Bulldogs provided one last surprise in the finale of an improbable Southeastern Conference tournament, building a big lead in the first half and holding on for a 66-57 victory over Arkansas to claim their first NCAA bid since 2002.

"We showed everybody what we were made of," Bulldogs guard Billy Humphrey said. "Right now, I feel like we can beat anybody."

The Bulldogs (17-16) became just the third team in the tournament's modern era to win four games in four days — well, actually it was four wins in three days since they had to play two on the same day, an impromptu bit of scheduling forced by a tornado that slammed into the Georgia Dome.

When it was done, Georgia sliced down the nets on the home court of Georgia Tech, which provided a replacement venue for the tournament after the dome was damaged Friday night. The Bulldogs remained on the court after the ceremony, watching the NCAA selection show on the video board above the court.

"It's really gratifying," said coach Dennis Felton, who had only eight scholarship players remaining after injuries, defections and disciplinary problems. "Regardless of how much adversity we went through and how much we had to go through as a team, the guys we had left had enough character to keep fighting for another day."

Arkansas (22-11) beat Vanderbilt and regular-season champion Tennessee on its way to the final, good enough for its third straight NCAA appearance. The Razorbacks, seeded ninth in the East Region, face Indiana at Raleigh, N.C., on Friday.

Who could have envisioned Georgia also being part of March Madness? Then again, who could have imagined the SEC championship being decided at an Atlantic Coast Conference school in an arena that wasn't even half-filled?

The Bulldogs, who beat as many SEC teams at the tournament as they did during the entire regular season, are seeded 14th in the West and will face third-seeded Xavier at Washington, D.C., on Thursday.

"We can take Xavier!" Terrance Woodbury said. "We can do it!"

Woodbury scored 16 points and the Bulldogs headed to the NCAAs for the first time since the scandalous era of former coach Jim Harrick, which landed the program on probation and prompted it to decline a certain postseason trip with a 19-win team in 2003.

ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE

NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 86, CLEMSON 81: Wayne Ellington finished with 24 points and Tyler Hansbrough had 18 to help the Tar Heels (32-2) beat the Tigers (24-9) in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championship game in Charlotte, N.C.

The Tar Heels won the title for a second straight season and a record 17th time.

BIG TEN

No. 8 Wisconsin 61, Illinois 48: Brian Butch scored 12 points and the Badgers (29-4) swept the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles for the first time by beating the Fighting Illini (16-19) in Indianapolis.

Marcus Landry, the tournament's most outstanding player, added 10 points, six rebounds and four assists as the top-seeded Badgers won their second tournament championship.

BIG 12

No. 5 Kansas 84, No. 6 Texas 74: Mario Chalmers had a career-high 30 points and eight of Kansas' tournament-record 15 3-pointers as the Jayhawks (31-3) won their third straight Big 12 title over the Longhorns (28-6) in Kansas City, Mo.

Brandon Rush hit six 3-pointers for Kansas, which was 15 for 25 from behind the arc, breaking the tournament record of 14 set by Colorado in 1995 and matched by Missouri in 2001.

SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE

Texas-Arlington 82, Northwestern St. 79: Anthony Vereen scored 25 points to lead the Mavericks (21-11) in the Southland Conference title game and the school's first NCAA tournament berth with the victory over the Demons (15-18) in Katy, Texas.

Vereen's two free throws with 11 seconds left sealed the win for the Mavericks, who set a school record for victories.

ELSEWHERE

TCU: Coach Neil Dougherty was fired last night after six seasons, only one of which ended with a winning record. Dougherty was 75-108 at TCU, including 14-16 this season. The Horned Frogs lost 89-88 to host UNLV in the Mountain West Conference tournament Thursday.