ATLANTA - The setting resembled a Pee Wee league game, with seats reserved for family and friends. Most everyone else headed for home while a Southeastern Conference tournament like no other ad-libbed its way through the weekend, trying to pick up the pieces from a devastating storm.

There was a new venue - the cozy arena on Georgia Tech's campus, rather than the spacious Georgia Dome. There was a hastily arranged schedule - yep, Georgia actually had to play a doubleheader Saturday, something most of the Bulldogs hadn't done since their AAU days.

“Chaotic” was the way Kentucky star Ramel Bradley described it, and that was certainly as good a word as any.

Friday night, a powerful tornado tore through downtown Atlanta, causing the thick fabric roof of the Georgia Dome to flap like a flag in a stiff breeze. Small chunks of debris, from bolts to insulation, fell from the towering ceiling. Large strips of metal siding and insulation were ripped away from outer shell of the 70,000-seat stadium, which was pocked with gaping holes in the light of a new day.

With the dome judged unsafe, the SEC decided to move the final four tournament games to 9,100-seat Alexander Memorial Coliseum, only 2 miles away but far enough to have avoided the wrath of the storm. There was no way to accommodate all of the 20,000 or so fans who had tickets, so the league decided to keep everyone out except a bare-bones crew: media, support staff, bands, cheerleaders, family and friends of the teams.

When Georgia and Kentucky took the court at noon Saturday for the last of the quarterfinal games, one that was supposed to be played Friday night, there were only about 1,500 people in the stands. Georgia upset the Wildcats 60-56 in overtime, but the only thing the Bulldogs got for their trouble was another game about six hours later.

They were set to face rested Mississippi State, which got nearly a full day to recoup from its delayed but completed victory over Alabama the previous night.

“It's not really your typical time, especially playing two games in a day,” said Georgia guard Zac Swansey, who hit the winning shot against Kentucky. “I have to go back to my AAU days since I did that.”