NEW YORK -- Isaiah Whitehead and Khadeen Carrington, separated by just a few stops on the subway growing up in Brooklyn, had a pact that they would be responsible for putting Seton Hall back on the Big East Conference landscape.

The sophomore guards took a major step in that resurgence, leading Seton Hall to an 87-83 win over No. 5 Xavier in the semifinals of the Big East Conference tournament Friday at Madison Square Garden.

The Pirates (24-8) are headed to the championship game of the tournament for the first time in 23 years where they will play No. 3 and top-seeded Villanova on Saturday.

The Wildcats are looking for back-to-back tournament titles. Seton Hall knocked off Syracuse 103-70 in the 1993 final.

For third-seeded Seton Hall, it's a continuation of a resurgent season where coach Kevin Willard's team was picked to finish seventh by his fellow coaches in the preseason. The Pirates ended up in third place with a roster filled primarily with underclassmen.

Whitehead and Carrington were major reasons that Seton Hall upended Xavier (27-5) for the second time in two weeks. The Musketeers fell 90-81 to the Pirates on Feb. 28.

Carrington poured in 23 points and Whitehead added 20 points and eight assists in the tournament game.

"It's a great feeling," said Carrington. "This is what we came to Seton Hall for. This is what we talked about before we even came here, getting Seton Hall back on the map to where it was.

"I think we're doing a great job of it right now."

The Pirates haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since the 2005-06 season.

"To do this in front of our friends and family and to beat a tough opponent in Xavier is a great accomplishment."

Edmond Sumner led Xavier (27-5) with 21 points and forward James Farr added 18.

Xavier led for only 4:38. Its last lead was 12-11.

A 6-0 run that ended with 21 seconds left brought the Musketeers to within 86-81, but they missed three of their last four shots.

The Pirates maintained a double-digit lead for the first part of the second half. Xavier got within 60-56 after J.P. Macura hit two free throws, but Seton Hall used a 14-3 run to increase its lead to 74-59 with 4:57 left. Whitehead led the charge with six points.

Xavier made just 1 of 10 shots from the field during the run.

Carrington, coming off a superb effort in the quarterfinals against Creighton, led the Pirates to a 41-30 halftime lead with 14 points.

Seton Hall turned a 17-15 edge into a 34-17 cushion thanks to a 17-2 blitz. Xavier turned the ball over four times during that span.

"You know they're going to swarm," said Xavier coach Chris Mack of the Pirates defense. "You know they're going to pride themselves on deflections. Even the very first play we get the tip and we deflected it out of bounds.

"From that point on it was deflection city. You can't run good offense that way."

Seton Hall's swarming defense produced 13 Xavier first-half turnovers, seven from guard Myles Davis.

Whitehead scored nine of Seton Hall's first 11 points.

"He's a monster," Mack said of Seton Hall's top scorer. "He's the best player in the league. He's the real freakin' deal."

NOTES: Seton Hall and Villanova have split their previous four Big East Tournament meetings. ... The 17,130 at the Garden was the most for a semifinal game since 2014 when 15,580 were at the Garden. ... Actor/comedian Bill Murray's son Luke is an assistant coach for Xavier. ... Seton Hall D Derek Gordon and Xavier G Myles Davis are both from Plainfield, N.J., about 40 miles from New York City. ... Seton Hall G Isaiah Whitehead has the highest assist total for a Pirate since Jordan Theodore set a season program record with 226 as a senior in 2011-12. Whitehead had 154 assists going into the game. ... The Pirates made their ninth appearance in the Big East Tournament semifinals and their second in the last three years.