ATLANTA — No Arkansas players cheered or jumped up and down Sunday after learning the Razorbacks are in the NCAA Tournament and headed to Raleigh, N. C., to play Indiana.

It was tough for the Razorbacks to show much emotion other than disappointment as the NCAA Tournament bracket was announced less than 45 minutes after Georgia beat Arkansas 66-57 in the SEC Tournament championship game.

“Eventually tomorrow will come, and the sun will come up and we’ll be pretty jacked about having a chance to be one of 65 teams still having a chance to play [for the NCAA title ],” Razorbacks Coach John Pelphrey said. “I know if you’d told me at the beginning of the year that we’d have a chance to play in the SEC championship game and be in the NCAA Tournament, I’d probably be pretty excited about that.

“ I’ll get there at some point in time.” But not so soon after losing the SEC Tournament final.

“Winning this championship makes you a part of Arkansas history,” Pelphrey said. “It puts you in the record books.

“ Yeah, we missed an opportunity.” The Razorbacks (22-11 ) lost in the SEC Tournament championship game for the second consecutive year after being beaten by Florida 77-56 in 2007.

“It’s very disappointing for the six seniors,” said Arkansas senior center Darian Townes, who had 17 points and eight rebounds Sunday. “We’re not going to get this chance back.” While Arkansas had assured itself of an NCAA Tournament at-large spot by beating No. 18 Vanderbilt on Friday and No. 4 Tennessee on Saturday night, Georgia (17-16 ) had to win Sunday and gain the SEC’s automatic bid to make its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2002.

The Bulldogs were playing their fourth game in four days and third since noon Saturday, but they came out with more energy than the Razorbacks and never trailed after jumping ahead 18-5 with 14: 47 left in the first half.

“We knew they’d come out with both barrels blazing,” Arkansas senior center Steven Hill said. “They had a lot to play for, and so did we for that matter.” Georgia beat Ole Miss in overtime in Thursday night’s late game and had its Friday matchup with Kentucky postponed because of tornado damage to the Georgia Dome. Then, the Bulldogs beat the Wildcats and Mississippi State on Saturday and came back to knock off the Razorbacks.

“It’s unbelievable what they did under the circumstances, the teams they had to play and the times they had to play,” Hill said. “It was incredible they could overcome all that and keep competing like they did.” After trailing by 19 points three times in the first half, the Razorbacks were within 36-26 at halftime and kept cutting into their deficit in the second half.

Georgia looked ready to hit the wall after Arkansas pulled within 56-53 on a driving basket by senior forward Sonny Weems with 4: 19 left.

But the Bulldogs refused to fold and got a dunk from Albert Jackson and a three-point basket by Billy Humphrey to push their lead to 61-53 as the Razorbacks went 3: 19 without scoring.

Junior forward Terrance Woodbury led Georgia with 16 points, including hitting 4 of 5 three-point shots.

Humphrey, a junior guard, added 12 points and senior guard Sundiata Gaines — voted by media as the SEC Tournament MVP — had 11 points, 5 assists and 2 steals.

“We had nothing to lose and nothing was worth being an excuse — the injuries, the fatigue, any of that,” Humphrey said. “It didn’t matter.

“ We just knew we had 20 more minutes, 15 more minutes, 10 more minutes to play and win this championship and shock the world.” Arkansas was done in by hitting just 2 of 17 three-point attempts, committing 15 turnovers and allowing Georgia to grab 13 offensive rebounds and hit 7 of 15 three-pointers.

“Georgia was just the better team from start to finish,” Pelphrey said. “Our guys fought and battled back to get themselves back into it, but Georgia was just better than us today.” Arkansas controlled the ball on the opening tip, but Gaines stole it from Vincent Hunter and drove for a layup and a 2-0 lead nine seconds into the game that Georgia never relinquished.

“The first turnover and basket was like a jab to the face,” Townes said. “That seemed to set the tone for them.” Georgia, the sixth seed in the East, became the third SEC team to win four games to take the tournament title, joining Auburn in 1985 and Arkansas in 2000.

“I can’t hardly find the words to describe how happy I am for our players and how grateful I am to them for showing so much perseverance culminated by this weekend,” Bulldogs Coach Dennis Felton said. “There was nothing easy about it.” The Bulldogs are a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play Xavier on Thursday in Felton’s hometown of Washington.

“I didn’t care where we played, who we played, seeding,” Felton said. “We’re just eternally grateful for this tournament.” Arkansas’ postgame mood Sunday was in stark contrast to Saturday night’s celebration after Hill’s jump shot with 5. 3 seconds left lifted the Razorbacks to 92-91 semifinal victory over Tennessee.

“Last night it was jubilation and celebration and today it’s heartache and sorrow,” Pelphrey said. “We’ve got to bounce back, and this team has shown some resiliency throughout their careers and obviously this season.” The Razorbacks play Indiana on Friday.

“We’ll be ready to go,” Pelphrey said. “But today is tough.”