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Villanova falls to Seton Hall in Big East title game

NEW YORK - The Big East tournament title game proved to be a series of momentum swings in a spellbinding second half that had the Madison Square Garden sellout crowd of 19,812 on its feet for the final minutes wondering if Villanova could repeat as champion, or if Seton Hall would pull off the upset.

A teary-eyed Josh Hart (left) of Villanova walks off the court with Associate Head Coach Baker Dunleavy after losing to Seton Hall during the championship game of the Big East Tournament.
A teary-eyed Josh Hart (left) of Villanova walks off the court with Associate Head Coach Baker Dunleavy after losing to Seton Hall during the championship game of the Big East Tournament.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

NEW YORK - The Big East tournament title game proved to be a series of momentum swings in a spellbinding second half that had the Madison Square Garden sellout crowd of 19,812 on its feet for the final minutes wondering if Villanova could repeat as champion, or if Seton Hall would pull off the upset.

But it was the Pirates, a contingent of mostly sophomores who have steadily improved throughout the season, who made the big plays Saturday night at crunch time. The biggest came from Isaiah Whitehead, who converted a three-point play with 18.5 seconds remaining that propelled the Hall to a 69-67 victory over the third-ranked Wildcats.

Villanova (29-5), the Big East regular-season champion, now must wait and see whether the loss will cost it a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the brackets are revealed Sunday. Meanwhile, the Pirates (25-8) got the conference's automatic NCAA bid with their first Big East tournament crown since 1993.

Asked if he thought his team deserved a No. 1 seed, Villanova coach Jay Wright replied, "I don't know enough about it. I don't know what the criteria is with the other teams. I haven't followed it closely enough. I know we're in the running."

The Wildcats, who rallied from a 14-point first-half deficit, did not execute well after Kris Jenkins knocked down his fifth three-pointer of the contest to give them a 67-64 lead with 50.5 seconds to play. After Whitehead made one free throw, the Wildcats could have made it a two-possession game, but Josh Hart turned the ball over when he was surrounded by a three-man Seton Hall trap and called for a five-second violation.

"They were down and obviously you expect them to be aggressive," Hart said. "I failed us in that part. With the ball, up two, with a timeout, you can't turn it over."

Whitehead, who led all scorers with 26 points, took the initiative on Seton Hall's next possession. He drove to the hoop on an angle, collided with Jenkins, and scored. The subsequent free throw put the Pirates ahead for good.

Jenkins then had a look at a three from the right corner and missed. Hart grabbed the rebound, went up, and had the shot deflected by Angel Delgado, who was fouled and made one free throw with 3.4 seconds left.

Asked if he was fouled, Hart said it was "50-50 . . . one of those plays where I might have got fouled, I might not have."

Delgado missed his second free throw. Daniel Ochefu rebounded and got the ball ahead to Ryan Arcidiacono, who slipped as he tried to make a move to the basket. His last-second shot fell well short, and the Seton Hall celebration began.

"I bobbled the ball and once I slipped it just kind of messed me up a bit," Arcidiacono said. "I didn't get a clean grip on the ball and just had to chuck it up."

Jenkins led Villanova with 23 points and Hart added 17. Arcidiacono, who scored 34 points in the first two tournament games, shot 2 of 10 and had five points.

It was a painful loss, but the Wildcats know they must move on to the NCAA tournament, where the eyes of the college basketball nation will be on them after two straight years of second-game knockouts.

They were looking at a route that took them through Brooklyn and the Wells Fargo Center as a No. 1 seed in the East. Saturday night's loss made nothing a certainty.

But that's fine with Wright.

"I would love to play in the East," he said. "But if we don't, we're so happy to be playing in the NCAA tournament. We'll take whatever we get."

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq