NEW YORK CITY, N.Y.— St. John’s was nowhere to be found, but Villanova has turned the Big East tournament into their own New York story.

The Wildcats, who defeated Xavier, 71-67, in overtime at the Garden Friday night to advance to their fifth straight championship game tonight, have filled the void left when Connecticut and Syracuse left the league. They have dominated this event ever since conference realignment. They have won eight straight games in this arena and their fans fill the arena every time they play.

Every night under the bright lights seems to bring out a new hero.

This time, it was senior guard Phil Booth, who got hot at the end of regulation and finished with a game high 28 points as the Cats, who trailed most of regulation, came out of the abyss to find a way to survive and advance. Booth, who shot 9 for 20 and drained four threes, got hot at the right time, scoring 10 of Villanova’s final 13 points.

After the game, Villanova coach Jay Wright was asked where Booth’s performance ranks among performances by Wildcat players in this tournament. “Right now, the greatest ever,’’ Wright said, laughing. “It’s the only one I can remember right now. I couldn’t tell you another one right now.’’

It came at the right time, leading Booth to breathe a sigh of relief. “I definitely don’t think it’s our tournament,’’ he said. “We were just down seen a couple minutes ago.’’

Villanova (24-9), which shot just 41 percent and was just 9 -of -29 from the three, had to grind this one out after they fell behind, 55-48, after Xavier guard Quentin Goodin made a jumper in the lane with 4:41 to play. The Cats looked for the longest time like they had no answers for guard Paul Scruggs, who finished with 27 points, or 7-0 center Zach Hankins, a fifth-year transfer who was the Division II Player of the Year at Ferris (Mich.) State. Hankins shot 8 for 10 and scored 18 points while dominating the paint and they were struggling to get their other star, 6-8, 230-pound senior forward Eric Paschall going against Xavier’s length and muscle.

But Villanova, which has been involved in a series of close games this season, is used to playing with fire and making the right play at the right time, limiting Xavier to just one shot over the final 4:30 of regulation when they made their comeback.

Paschall, the one-time Fordham star from Dobbs Ferry who transferred to Villanova following his freshman year after head coach Tom Pecora was dismissed, continued to create his own local legend, scoring on a tip in the paint to tie the game at 58-58 with seven seconds to play in regulation.

Then, sophomore point guard Collin Gillespie took a game saving charge in the lane against a driving Naji Marshall with 1.6 seconds left in the second half to send the game into overtime. “We want our guys to always try to make the right play,’’ Wright said. “There are time- and- score plays. You don’t know if they’re going to tap that in. They do a good job of driving, putting it up on the glass, then tap that in. So, he had to come to help, if they don’t call a charge there, that could be an offensive rebound. So, it was a big play. We just wanted to make the right play.’’

Paschall, who only scored 12 points, came back in overtime to nail a critical three-point jumper to give Villanova a 63-60 lead with 4:04 left to play and Booth, who is a classic example of a veteran player who has mastered Wright’s system, took them home from there.

“I was just trying to be aggressive,’’ he said. “They were doing a good job on the ball and I was just trying to get in the lane and either make a pass or score. I was just trying to make a read on what the defense was giving me.’’

This was a heart- breaking loss for Xavier (18-15), who just a month ago was stranded in last place in the Big East after six straight losses and had played its way back into the NCAA tournament conversation by winning seven of eight. If the Musketeers had won, they might have stolen St. John’s bid.

We haven’t talked about the NCAA tournament with our team at all,’’ Xavier first year coach Travis Steele said. “We know what’s at stake. Our guys know. If you see how we’ve been playing, we’re a Top 30 team in college basketball for sure. We’re a team that can advance. There’s no doubt about it. We won at Seton Hall. Won at St. John’s. Won at Providence. Beat Creighton on a neutral court.

“But it’s up to the committee to decide whether we’re in or out.’’