In a battle of teams projected to finish last in their respective conferences, Rutgers struck a blow for the Big Ten with a 66-59 victory over DePaul of the Big East on Thursday night at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill.

Junior guard Mike Williams came off the bench to produce 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds while sophomore point guard Corey Sanders added 15 points as Rutgers secured its first 3-0 start in eight seasons. The Scarlet Knights led 54-32 with 10:39 left in the Gavitt Tipoff Games contest before the Blue Demons authored a late run.

Sophomore swingman Eli Cain paced DePaul (1-1) with 24 points, which included three 3-pointers in the final five minutes. Senior guard Billy Garrett Jr., a preseason second-team all-Big East selection, missed his first 10 shots and finished with five points before fouling out with 8:24 to play.

Rutgers earned the triumph with a dominant performance on the boards and a suffocating man-to-man defense. The Scarlet Knights outrebounded the Blue Demons 46-27 and limited the hosts to 38.9 percent shooting from the field.

Neither team could find the range in the first half. Rutgers shot 32.1 percent from the field compared to DePaul's 32 percent, but the Scarlet Knights claimed a 33-26 halftime lead because they bludgeoned the smaller Blue Demons 29-8 on the boards. Rutgers' rebounding prowess led to an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Sanders scored eight points in the first seven minutes of the second half as Rutgers extended its lead to 48-30 with 13:03 to play and all but assure the program's first road win since Dec. 28, 2014.

With 10 minutes left and Rutgers enjoying a 54-32 lead, DePaul's starting five was shooting a combined 4 of 25 from the field as the four Demons not named Cain missed their first 18 attempts. Garrett made only his last shot from the field -- a 3-pointer from the right corner with 8:55 left.

DePaul freshman guard Devin Gage had to be helped off the floor with 12 minutes left after landing on his right shoulder in the paint while driving to the basket. He did not return.