NEW YORK -- It had been 23 years since a Seton Hall player cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden, symbolic of winning the Big East Conference Tournament, so you could understand Isaiah Whitehead's concern.
"I was scared I was going to fall," Whitehead admitted.
Who could blame him after his 26-point performance led Seton Hall to a 69-67 win over No. 3 Villanova before 19,812. The sophomore point guard was 11-of-21 in earning the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
The Pirates last won the title with a win over Syracuse in 1993. They also claimed the conference title in 1991.
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Whitehead, who grew up in nearby Brooklyn, provided the Pirates (25-8) with the game-deciding play. He twisted through the lane for a layup, was fouled by Kris Jenkins and promptly sank the free throw that gave the Pirates a 68-67 edge with 18 seconds left.
"This whole year coach (Kevin Willard) has been raving about making winning plays," Whitehead said. "I really just attacked the basket. I felt I had an opportunity to score the ball.
"I saw Kris (Jenkins) coming over and I knew that he wouldn't be able to get in position fast enough for me to draw a charge. I just tried to lay it in on him."
Jenkins, who had been instrumental in bringing Villanova back from a 13-point second-half deficit with his sharp shooting, missed a 3-pointer and Josh Hart's follow-up layup with eight seconds to play also missed.
Jenkins led the Wildcats with 23 points, 16 in the second half when Villanova outscored Seton Hall 38-29.
"We wanted to get it to Kris (Jenkins)," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "He wanted to give him a chance to shoot it or drive it. And then we wanted to attack the offensive glass.
"When you're down, you know you want to get to the glass and Josh (Hart) got a great look and it didn't go."
Villanova's Ryan Arcidiacono fouled Angel Delgado on the rebound and the Seton Hall forward sank both free throws for the final score.
Villanova (29-5), the top seed, was looking to become the first team since Connecticut in 1999 to sweep the Big East's regular season and tournament titles over a two-year span.
Seton Hall is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006. The Pirates were picked to finish seventh in the conference in the pre-season. They wound up in third place behind ranked teams Villanova and Xavier, who they defeated in successive nights in the Big East tournament.
"I don't think we talked about it (ranking)," Willard said. "When you start five sophomores and a come off the bench with two freshman and one senior, our whole focus this year was just trying to get better game by game."
Jenkins hit a wide-open 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Wildcats ahead 67-64 with 52 seconds to play. It was Villanova's first lead since early in the first half.
Mikal Bridges hit two free throws for the Wildcats to tie the score for the fifth time in the second half.
Jenkins' jumper tied the game at 62-62 before Whitehead responded with a jumper to move the Pirates ahead 64-62 on the next possession.
A jumper from Whitehead and Derrick Gordon's 3-pointer pushed the Pirates' lead to 60-55 with 5:24 to play.
Jenkins got hot from long range midway through the second half.
His 3-pointer pulled the Wildcats to within 55-53 with 6:56 to go and he tied it at 50-50 with his third 3-pointer of the game at the 9:21 mark.
The Pirates went close to five minutes without a point.
Jenkins capped an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer from the top of the key that cut Seton Hall's lead to 48-45 with 12:54 to go.
Whitehead scored 12 points in the first half as Seton Hall led for 18:31 of the first 20 minutes.
The Pirates settled for 3-pointers early in the first half and then got back into their half-court offense. A layup by Gordon gave Seton Hall its largest lead of the half at 39-25 with three minutes left.
Seton Hall built a 37-23 cushion thanks to a 10-2 run spurred by 3-pointers from Gordon and Whitehead.
A 6-0 run, with two jumpers from Whitehead, gave Seton Hall a 25-17 edge with 9:05 left in the half.
With Seton Hall ahead 15-9, Villanova fell into a severe shooting drought, going scoreless for nearly five minutes.
NOTES: The Big East Conference tournament team consisted of Khadeen Carrington and Ishmael Sanogo of Seton Hall, Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins of Villanova, and Trevon Bluiett of Xavier. ... Villanova was in the tournament final for the seventh time. It won the title in 1995 and 2015. ... Seton Hall was in the final for the third time. ... Villanova G Ryan Arcidiacono is the first player in school history to accumulate more than 1,500 points and 500 assists. ... Villanova swept the regular-season series, winning 72-63 and 72-71. ... Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard played for Pittsburgh in the Big East Tournament from 1994 to 1997.
