This wasn’t about style points. Or the eye test. Or impressing the selection committee.

Seton Hall had to find a way to win — by any means possible — to avoid the kind of disastrous loss that can ruin a team’s Selection Sunday.

It had to navigate large portions of this game without its top two point guards. It had to find enough points on a day star forward Sandro Mamukelashvili was far from his best.

It had to survive and advance — the March moniker for the NCAA Tournament that was so apt for the Pirates on Sunday afternoon.

And so Kevin Willard rolled the dice. His team’s lead was down to four. He reinserted guard Shavar Reynolds with just over seven minutes remaining despite the senior floor leader having four fouls.

Reynolds wouldn’t be whistled for his fifth. He set up consecutive easy baskets, hit a pair of jumpers himself and sank four clutch free throws, keying an ugly 57-51 victory over fast-fading Marquette at Prudential Center.

“That’s the Seton Hall mentality,” Reynolds said after the Pirates won a league game while scoring in the 50s for the first time in eight years. “No matter how you’re playing or the stakes on the line, you play hard, you play until the last whistle.”

Seton Hall’s third straight win solidified its third-place position in the Big East, as difficult as it was at times. With Bryce Aiken (ankle) out and Reynolds in foul trouble, the Pirates struggled immensely on offense, shooting 37 percent from the field. Pressed into duty, freshman point guard Jahari Long had four turnovers in 18 minutes. Mamukelashvili committed six turnovers and shot just 4 of 12. Jared Rhoden was the one constant, producing 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Reynolds was the engine down the stretch, though. With 7:21 left and a four-point lead, Willard called him over. He was going back in.

“I’m glad he had the trust in me to be smart and not pick up my fifth foul,” said Reynolds, who finished with 10 points and three assists.

The one-time walk-on made sure to be solid defensively — no reaching — and was effective on the other end. He set up Rhoden and Ike Obiagu for easy baskets to push the lead back to eight. He sank a pair of medium-range jump shots to keep Marquette at bay. And he hit four free throws in the final 44.4 seconds to ice it, making sure Seton Hall wouldn’t suffer a defeat that could’ve been devastating to its tournament hopes.

“This time of year, it doesn’t matter whether it’s pretty or a 15-point game,” Willard said. “A win’s a win.”

After losing three straight games to No. 5 Villanova and No. 19 Creighton, Seton Hall (12-8, 9-5) is in strong position to reach a fifth straight NCAA Tournament. It managed to win on Sunday despite an underwhelming performance. Its defense, which limited Marquette to 30 percent shooting and 3 of 25 from 3-point range, was essential, just as it was in the previous victories over Providence and UConn. That side of the floor, along with Rhoden’s productive second half and Reynolds’ strong finish, was enough to ensure the Pirates’ survival. They knew how important this victory was, how much a loss could have hurt their NCAA Tournament standing.

“That’s one of the things we could talk about all day,” Rhoden said. “You look at those bracketologies, and we’re looking at all that stuff, it means a lot to us. It’s something we’ve been looking forward to since we were little kids. Knowing how big this game was and how important the opportunity was, we had to take advantage of it.”

Willard didn’t have much insight to offer on the status of Aiken, the Harvard grad transfer. The sharpshooting guard is set to undergo an MRI on his knee Monday after not practicing last week. This was the eighth game Aiken has missed this year due to an assortment of injuries.