Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl, described Tuesday as the "most-exciting coach in the nation,'' by ESPN, added SEC Coach of the Year by The Associated Press to his list of accomplishments.

LSU coach John Brady was named the SEC Coach of the Year in a vote of the league's coaches a week ago.

Pearl said he understood the coaches' vote, as the Tigers claimed the SEC regular-season championship.

In fact, Pearl said he would gladly give up his AP award for a title.

"I'd trade this for an SEC tournament or regular season championship,'' Pearl said. "But this gives me an opportunity to recognize my staff, Tony (Jones), Scott (Edgar) and Jason (Shay).

"I'm a lot easier to play for than I am to work for.''

Perhaps, but the support Pearl receives is undeniable.

UT players and fans were upset by the perceived snub of their coach, who led the Vols to the SEC East Division title.

"For him (Pearl) not to get it was disrespectful,'' UT senior point guard C.J. Watson said. "We were all surprised he didn't because of how he turned the program around.''

The Vols (21-7) are making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2001 after being picked to finish fifth in the Eastern Division.

UT opens the tournament as a No. 2 seed — the highest in school history — at 2:40 p.m. EST Thursday against Winthrop (23-7).

Pearl was named national Coach of the Year by The Sporting News on Monday.

"I think Bruce accomplished a lot more than anyone expected,'' UT athletic director Mike Hamilton said.

Hamilton rewarded Pearl for his efforts last week with a new six-year deal worth an average of $1.3 million annually. Pearl, hired from Wisconsin-Milwaukee a year ago, started out at UT making $800,000 annually.

"This has been a very special season,'' Pearl said. "This is obviously a team that has exceeded all expectations and did so week after week.

"How many times has this team done it when you weren't expecting them to do it?''

UT sophomore shooting guard Chris Lofton was named to the AP's SEC first team, and Watson was named to the second team, just as they were on the coaches' team last week.

"I think C.J. is bothered by being a second-team All-SEC pick,'' Pearl said. "You go from being first team All-SEC on a team that was 6-10 (in the SEC), to being second team on a 12-4 team, and almost all your numbers were up.''

LSU's Glen Davis was named SEC Player of the Year and teammate Tyrus Thomas was voted top newcomer. It's the second year in a row the Tigers have claimed both awards.

Davis was the only unanimous first-team selection. He's joined by Lofton, Arkansas' Ronnie Brewer, Florida's Joakim Noah and Alabama's Ronald Steele.

Brewer is a junior, the other four are sophomores.

The AP team was selected by a dozen sportswriters who cover the SEC.