A couple of weeks ago the Georgia Bulldogs were on the brink of ending their season early and losing their head coach.

Rumors swirled that head coach Dennis Felton was on his way out in Athens, Ga., after the team lost 10 of its last 12 games heading into the SEC tournament, and won just four conference games all season. The team's 4-12 league record put them in a last-place tie with Auburn in the SEC standings.

But then Georgia's season took a sudden turn.

The Bulldogs entered the SEC tournament facing what seemed like an impossible task -- they needed to win four games to claim the postseason crown and clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

They opened tournament play against Mississippi in the first round, and downed the Rebels 97-95 in overtime.

The win earned them a matchup against Kentucky, the SEC's third-best team, in the quarterfinals. But disaster struck before the start of the contest. Severe storms hit the Atlanta area, causing damage to the Georgia Dome. The game was postponed and moved to Saturday morning.

The delay made Georgia's quest for the SEC crown seem even more unachievable -- the Bulldogs would have to win three games in two days to win the tournament.

But Georgia was up to the challenge. The team defeated Kentucky 60-56 in overtime to advance to a semifinal meeting with Mississippi State -- the conference's No. 2 team -- later that night. The Bulldogs were victorious again, topping their opponent 64-60.

With the win, Georgia advanced to the championship game, where they faced Arkansas. The Bulldogs came out quick against the Razorbacks and jumped to a 36-26 lead at the half. Arkansas made a run in the second half, but Georgia was able to hold on for the victory -- and the SEC crown.

"That was just hard for anybody to do -- win four games in three days," Arkansas head coach John Pelphrey said during a teleconference Monday. "Those players deserve a lot of credit."

The win also came with a bonus prize -- a berth in the NCAA tournament.

"That's what's great about college basketball, what happened to Georgia," Florida head coach Billy Donovan said.

With their season extended, Georgia will travel to Washington, D.C. for a first-round meeting with Xavier on Thursday.

On Monday, Georgia assistant coach Pete Herrmann briefly scouted Xavier -- calling the Musketeers "very consistent" and a "great rebounding" team -- but he was still caught up in the team's unlikely victory.

"I was overcome with a lot of emotion," Herrmann said about how he reacted to the team's victory.

"(It was) a great, great feeling that everything was truly coming together for this group of players," Herrmann said.

Does Georgia have one more unthinkable run in it? The Bulldogs will try to continue their winning streak Thursday.