"Speed of lightning
Roar of thunder
Fighting all who rob or plunder
Underdog!
Underdog!
Underdog!"
-Theme song to the cartoon "Underdog;" which I get stuck in my head about this time every year.

Perhaps the Georgia Bulldogs just decided to get all of their losing out of the way early.

They sure had a lot of losses to get out of that system of theirs. From the very onset of the college basketball season the Bulldogs were expected to finish at the bottom of the SEC. Coach Dennis Felton was on the chopping block, and the Bulldogs responded with a rough season. Their record within the Southeastern Conference was 4-12 during the regular season.

Just a week ago I mentioned Maryland coming out of nowhere to win the ACC in 2004 as the 6 seed. I had the wrong team, but at least the right jersey color. Georgia came in ranked last in the SEC. They were under .500. Then, the Bulldogs beat Ole Miss on Thursday, to ready themselves for a Friday showdown with Kentucky that was delayed by the tornadoes in Atlanta, GA. That would mean that the GA-Kentucky winner would have to play two games in the same day, which would seem to be a detriment to Georgia.

But somehow, there was something cleansing in all of it. This is the University of Georgia's basketball team we're talking about, so it's natural to believe the team's primary concern stopped being basketball somewhere between rain starting to fall and the tornadoes. Afterward, it's like all the losses blew away in the storm.

In an ACC gym, with only parents, media and bands to watch them--no pesky massive Kentucky student section--the Bulldogs would have to win three games in two days against the class of the Southeastern conference, starting with the storied Wildcats of Kentucky. They took UK to overtime, toppling the big program with stellar defense and taking the 60-56 victory. Imagine that. "Congratulations on your overtime victory. Now warm up and get back out there, you still have to play another game." Georgia finished out very well against Mississippi State, holding MSU scoreless in the last minute and a half to advance to the championship against Arkansas.

Georgia dominated Arkansas for much of the game, playing like the favorite as opposed to the extreme underdogs they really were. Arkansas rallied late but couldn't complete the comeback, and Georgia took the SEC championship, with an 8-12 conference record (counting the tournament that is). That would be enough for an automatic bid and the lowest seed--14 out West--that an SEC team has ever had in the NCAA Tournament, and a bid with Xavier.

Georgia came out blazing hot against Xavier, building what at one point was an eleven point lead before the Musketeers remembered they were a 3 seed and rallied back to a nine point lead of their own in the latter parts of the second half, but Georgia would not go away so easily. The Bulldogs--the Underdogs--went from the fatigue of a team in over their head to a sudden speed of lightning of their own in the last two minutes of the game. A big slam inside by Dave Bliss put Georgia within three with a minute and a half to go. People started wondering for the first time in the second half whether "Cinderella" could actually be a major conference champion this year. Xavier would then make four consecutive free throws to pull away within a minute. Desperation attempts from Sundiata Gaines would be in vain, and the Underdogs fell in Thursday's earliest game.

I'll admit, I started this column when the Bulldogs were winning that game. They looked like they had Xavier on the ropes, but Xavier proved themselves up to the big task. A stellar start to the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament, as the first major "bracket buster" is averted when the 3 seed out West beats the 13 in Washington, DC.

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Tim Williams is a columnist covering college sports for MCN Sports. E-mail Tim at TWilliams@mcn.tv