NASHVILLE -- Tennessee put forth one of its most inspired efforts of the season in the second half of a game that wasn't supposed to mean anything.

Ultimately, that could mean everything for the Vols in the SEC and NCAA men's basketball tournaments.

Tennessee regained confidence and momentum heading into the postseason by overcoming a 16-point second-half deficit, closing the regular season with a 68-59 victory over Vanderbilt at Memorial Gym Saturday afternoon.

Chris Lofton led the Vols with 21 points, but it was hardly a typical afternoon for the SEC's top perimeter shooter. The sophomore was 2-of-11 beyond the arc -- the most 3-pointers he's missed in his career.

Lofton, however, was 6 of 7 inside the 3-point line in leading the Vols to their biggest comeback victory of the season, surpassing the 15-point deficit they erased in their SEC opener at South Carolina.

"You guys are going to have a hard time explaining this one,'' UT coach Bruce Pearl said. "It's like, can you make head or tails of why we're SEC East champions?''

The No. 11 Vols (21-6, 12-4 SEC) had already clinched the East division title before Saturday's game and were set to play the winner of Thursday's game between the East's No. 5 seed (Georgia or South Carolina) and the West's No. 4 seed (Mississippi State) at 1 p.m. EST Friday at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville.

But having lost three of four entering Saturday's game, questions abounded as to whether UT had peaked or worn down due to the combination of its uptempo style of play and relative lack of depth.

Such concerns seemed legitimate when Vanderbilt (16-11, 7-9) stormed to a 31-21 halftime lead, which it extended to 37-21 with 17:26 to play.

"The game was about to get out of hand,'' UT senior forward Stanley Asumnu said. "I think this really revealed what type of team we are.

"A lot of things were going through our mind, but we stayed together, and we stayed confident.''

Lofton sparked the initial rally by driving for a basket with 17:07 remaining to draw UT within 37-23.

The Commodores, running their disciplined Princeton-style offense, appeared capable of handling the Vols' comeback hopes.

That seemed particularly true when UT center Major Wingate left the game with his fourth foul with 14:23 remaining and Lofton missed his first free throw attempt in the game with 11 minutes left.

Lofton -- who fell one short of the school record (39) for most consecutive free throws -- regained his poise and hit his second attempt of the sequence to make it 44-34.

Wingate didn't return, but that wasn't an oversight.

Pearl stuck with a smaller lineup that at one point included Dane Bradshaw at center and Stanley Asumnu at power forward after the flow of the game changed at the 10minute mark.

Again, it was Lofton setting the tone, hitting his first 3-pointer of the game after missing his first seven attempts.

Lofton's 3-pointer sparked a 10-0 run that Lofton also capped with a layup after C.J. Watson stole an inbounds pass.

Suddenly, it was 44-44 with 9:05 remaining.

Within that pivotal minute, the Vols forced three turnovers and hit 4 of 4 shots, two of them 3pointers.

It was the type of flurry -- and defense -- that seemed to be missing since the midway point of the SEC season.

"That's our best defensive effort of the year,'' Pearl said. "This team showed a lot of character tonight. In spite of not playing well on offense, we hung in there.''

UT senior forward Andre Patterson spearheaded the defense with five second-half steals and four blocked shots.

But the Commodores, playing with slim NCAA tournament hopes, didn't roll over right away.

After Lofton's layup tied the game, the lead changed hands or was tied nine times before Patterson's lay-in at the 2:51 mark made it 56-55 and gave UT the lead for good.

Bradshaw followed Patterson's bucket with an NBA range 3-pointer that made it 59-55 with 1:50 left.

Mario Moore hit two free throws to bring the Commodores within 59-57 with 1:31 left, but the Vols went on a 9-0 tear consisting of another Lofton 3-pointer and six consecutive free throws from Watson (4) and Lofton (2).

Shan Foster led Vanderbilt with 15 points and DeMarre Carroll had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Julian Terrell scored 10 points.

"We didn't stay organized and we lost our poise,'' Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "We're not accustomed to losing like this at our place, and we don't like it.''

Laser Tag: Pearl said he'll give UT today off, and joked he might take them bowling or to play Laser Tag.

"I'll have to check to see if that would be considered an extra-benefit,'' Pearl said. "If it's not, then I can blast Major with a laser.''

Orange Slices: UT didn't take its first lead its the game until Lofton hit a runner off the glass to make it 47-46 with 7:51 left. ... Lofton, 54 of 58 (.931) from the free throw line this season, hadn't missed a free throw since the Vols' 69-58 win over Lipscomb on Dec. 29. ... Patterson's five steals tied his career-high, set last year against North Carolina. ... Wingate had 10 points and six rebounds, but also five turnovers, before leaving the game. ... Watson's six turnovers were a season high.

SEC Bracket: If Georgia beats Arkansas in Athens today (TV: 2 p.m., UPN), the Bulldogs will be the East's No. 5 seed. If Georgia loses, South Carolina is the No. 5 seed. Underset: .11 inches/ 1 lines