GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Call them inspiring, call them unbelievable and call Tennessee the SEC Eastern Division champions.

The Vols won at least a share of their first SEC East men's basketball title since the 1999-2000 season with a dramatic 76-72 victory over Florida before a rowdy, sold-out crowd of 12,322 at the O'Connell Center on Wednesday night.

"I'm kind of numb,'' said first-year Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, who was also soaking wet, having sweated through his suit from the game's early goings. "It's another step in the direction of becoming a very memorable basketball team at Tennessee.''

Dane Bradshaw added another page to his storybook season with 15 points, five assists, a career-high three 3-pointers and four steals for the Vols.

Bradshaw, who hit a go-ahead layup in the closing moments of UT's 80-76 win over then-undefeated Florida on Jan. 21, was at the center of the Vols' Gator giggin' once again.

Pearl instructed his team to go for the steal on a side-court inbounds play after Florida called time out with the score tied 72-72 and 18.8 seconds left to play.

Florida's Corey Brewer searched frantically for an open teammate from the tight confines of the O'Connell Center side-court, and with the referee late into his five-second count he released a pass in the direction of teammate Al Horford.

UT center Major Wingate tipped the ball and Bradshaw pounced on it and broke for the basket, spinning past a lunging Taurean Green of the Gators to convert the go-ahead layup with 15.9 seconds remaining.

Brewer, from Portland, Tenn., missed a 3-pointer at the other end with eight seconds remaining and UT's Chris Lofton got the rebound and was fouled.

Lofton proceeded to knock down two free throws with 2.6 seconds left. That did it.

The 10th-ranked Vols, picked to finish fifth in the SEC East during the conference's media days, improved to 20-4 and 11-2 in the SEC while No. 12 Florida fell to 22-5 and 8-5. While it's possible for the Gators and Kentucky (18-9, 8-5) to match UT's SEC record if UT loses its last three games, the Vols own the tiebreaker against both teams.

By clinching the East, UT earned the No. 1 seed in next month's SEC tournament in Nashville. The Vols will have a bye and will play March 10 at 1 p.m. EST against the March 9 winner between the SEC East's No. 5 seed and the SEC West's No. 4 seed.

UT remains tied with LSU for the best overall record in the SEC.

Lofton led the Vols with 16 points despite not hitting a field goal in the second half. Lofton, however, was, 4-for-4 from the free throw line over the final 20 minutes to improve his accuracy to 28 of 28 in SEC games

"They were doubling me, even on the screens,'' said Lofton, who had five assists and four steals. "But we had other people step up, and as long as we've got people doing that, I'll take wins over points anytime.''

Florida forward Joakim Noah scored 20 points for the Gators but missed the final 2:23 after C.J. Watson knocked one of his teeth out with an elbow to the jaw on an inbounds play.

"I was just trying to be physical,'' said Watson, who had 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. "It was that kind of game. We had to grind it out.''

Florida coach Billy Donovan was impressed.

"We really took Lofton out of the game,'' Donovan said, "but C.J. Watson made a big difference for them. He hit a big 3-pointer late in the game after we'd cut it to one, and he had some nice drives to the basket.''

Watson also harassed fellow All-SEC point guard candidate Green into a 2-of-8 shooting performance and four turnovers.

Still, the Gators' inside game was impressive, and Florida led by as many as 13 points in the first half before the Vols drew to 40-36 at halftime.

UT used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to build a 59-52 lead with 7:47 left and with 6:06 remaining took its largest lead of the game at 64-56 on one of Bradshaw's 3-pointers.

But the Gators answered with a 7-0 run to close to 64-63 at the 4:24 mark.

Watson answered with a 3-pointer, but Florida hung tough, and with 1:34 left, Brewer hit a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game 69-69.

"After he hit it, he winked at me,'' said UT's JaJuan Smith, who played four years of AAU ball with Brewer. "So I came back down and hit a three and winked back at him.''

Smith's 3-pointer, also from a corner, put the Vols back up 72-69 at the 1:27 mark.

Then it was Lee Humphrey's turn. The former Maryville High School standout hit his only bucket of the night, a 3-pointer from the top of the key, to tie the game at 72-72 with 51.9 seconds remaining.

UT turned the ball over on its next possession when Andre Patterson missed Smith's no-look pass, setting up the Florida timeout that led to the pivotal Bradshaw steal.

Orange Slices: The Vols return home to play Arkansas on Saturday at 1 p.m. (TV: WVLT). UT's SEC opponents are 2-10 in games after they have played the Vols. ... UT played in front of its fourth consecutive sellout crowd on the road. It's Pearl's 13th 20-win season over his 14 years as a head coach. The Vols were seven-point underdogs entering the game. It's the first time UT has swept the season series with Florida since the 1999-2000 season.