Call Wednesday night's game a tune-up for the stretch run.

No single player was spectacular against Rutgers, but everyone played well enough for an easy win at the Bradley Center, as Marquette finished with five double-digit scorers.

The men's basketball team did not play with the dire-straits attitude it has had of late but still buried a faltering Rutgers squad that has lost eight of its last nine.

Perhaps sophomore Dominic James' line best sums up the night: six points on 1-of-7 shooting, seven assists and zero turnovers. The guard did not have a great night but found a way to contribute.

Rutgers slapped double-teams on him when he came off picks. Instead of forcing the issue, James distributed.

"I saw the way they were trying to play me," James said. "They were trying to contain me. I'm not the type of guy that's gonna go out there and just try to get mine. The highlight of my night was the no turnovers, and I'm not looking at the points column."

No fast breaks, no problem

Marquette had only eight turnovers, allowing the team to control the game despite its inability to establish a transition pace.

Rutgers slowed the tempo by passing around the perimeter until late in the shot clock. Head coach Fred Hill's strategy slowed the game speed but did not yield positive results, as the team shot 17-of-48 on the night.

The Golden Eagles' defensive pressure was not as sweltering as it has been in other games during the streak, but Rutgers failed to capitalize.

"The tempo was to our liking," Hill said. "We just didn't make any shots tonight."

Marquette forced only 11 turnovers, another reason for the lack of fast breaks.

"That's another part of our game we need to work on, force you to play our style of game instead of having to convert to somebody else's style," said sophomore Jerel McNeal, who had 10 points but no steals. "I thought we could've done a better job with that."

Establishing a tempo was not nearly enough for Rutgers (9-15, 2-9 Big East) to even sniff an upset. Sophomore Marquis Webb's game-high 12 points gave Rutgers a shade of hope until early in the second half. But he did not score after hitting a three with 18:32 remaining, pulling Rutgers to within eight points.

At that juncture, Marquette stopped toying with Rutgers and started playing like a team that was superior in all facets.

Controlling the glass

Marquette had 16 offensive rebounds to Rutgers' nine but was out-scored 16-8 in second-chance points. Still, the ability to control the glass – the Golden Eagles had a 40-28 rebounding edge for the game – was pivotal.

"We know that it's necessary that we have to out-rebound teams and demoralize them," said sophomore Wesley Matthews, who had 10 points and six boards. "Especially when we can get offensive rebounds. That really kills a team's morale when they play defense for so long and then they give up an offensive rebound."