NEWARK, N.J. -- Seton Hall knocked off a top-5 team for only the sixth time in school history, turning back No. 5 Xavier with a wire-to-wire 90-81 win Sunday at the Prudential Center.

The last time the Pirates (21-7, 11-5 Big East) defeated a highly ranked team was in 2014 when they thwarted No. 3 Villanova 64-63 in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

The quality win over Xavier (25-4, 13-4), which has won nine of its last 11 games, should assure Seton Hall of its first NCAA tournament bid in 10 years. But that's not something coach Kevin Willard, in his sixth season at the Seton Hall, is concerned with.

"It's not my decision," Willard said of qualifying for the tournament. "I'm just going to enjoy this win, let my players enjoy it and then I have to figure out Butler (on Wednesday).

"We've had some good wins in this building (Prudential Center) and some bad losses. It's been a long process and it's not an easy process when you take over a high-level job. You go into it, you're stupid, you're naive, you think you're going to do things you can't do.

"But I give (athletic director) Pat Lyons credit. He could have gotten rid of me last year, I told him if you stick with me, I know we're going to win next year."

The 90 points were a season-best for the Pirates, who were led by sophomore guard Desi Rodriguez's career-high 27 points. He also grabbed 12 rebounds in registering his third double-double of the season.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Whitehead tossed in 22 points and distributed five assists and forward Angel Delgado added 17 points to help the Pirates win their eighth game in the last nine.

Guard Trevon Bluiett, the Big East Conference's Player of the Week, and forward James Farr led Xavier (25-4, 13-4) with 17 points apiece. The Musketeers had a four-game winning streak halted.

Seton Hall maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the second half. The Pirates sank four straight 3-pointers, two from Whitehead, to push their lead to 75-56 with 5:39 remaining.

The Musketeers got as close as 54-41 in the second half, but a 7-0 burst from the Pirates moved the Seton Hall advantage to 61-41 with 10:10 left to play. A traditional three-point play from Rodriguez and baskets from guard Khadeen Carrington and forward Michael Nzei comprised the run.

Seton Hall held a double-digit lead in the last 6:19 of the first half en route to a commanding 45-26 cushion at halftime. Delgado scored 13 points and Rodriguez added 12 points in the dominant Pirates' performance.

"To me the last eight minutes of the (first) half was our undoing," Xavier coach Chris Mack said. "We were down four or five points, we missed a couple of free throws and our inability to keep them off the glass and out of transition- that to me was the game.

"By our count we missed 17 layups in the first half. They (Seton Hall) had a little to do with it, but you have to capitalize on the road. "

The Pirates were effective at getting to the rim in the first half, going 12-of-16 from the line and scoring 16 points off second-chance opportunities.

Xavier cut the Pirates' lead to 28-23 with 7:38 left in the first half, but Seton Hall used a 15-2 run to take a sizeable 43-25 advantage at the 3:21 mark.

The Pirates opened with an 11-3 run, receiving five points from Delgado.

"I felt like from the very beginning of the game they (Seton Hall) were amped," Mack said. "They played extremely hard and they had a desperation you could feel on the floor."

NOTES: Seton Hall sank a season-high 27 free throws. ... Xavier hasn't won a conference title since claiming the Atlantic 10 crown in 2010-11. The Musketeers have never earned higher than a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. ... The Musketeers have recorded three straight 20-win seasons and 10 in 11 years. ... Xavier leads the Big East in scoring, assists and rebounding margin. ... Seton Hall G Isaiah Whitehead is third in the Big East in scoring and assists per game. ... Seton Hall honored its lone senior, Derrick Gordon, before the game. Gordon transferred to Seton Hall from Massachusetts before the season. "I give Derrick a lot credit for the team chemistry," said Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard. "He sacrificed a lot of playing time, shots and starting time. His unselfishness and maturity has helped our young guys."