Wisconsin vs. Marquette: 2019-20 key storylines for I-94 rivalry

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - DECEMBER 08: D'Mitrik Trice #0 of the Wisconsin Badgers handles the ball while being guarded by Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first half at the Fiserv Forum on December 08, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

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VILLANOVA, PA – FEBRUARY 27: Theo John #4, Joey Hauser #22, Sam Hauser #10, and Sacar Anim #2 of the Marquette Golden Eagles look on against the Villanova Wildcats in the second half at Finneran Pavilion on February 27, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. The Villanova Wildcats defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles 67-61. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

2. Sam and Joey Hauser are out of the State

Wisconsin and Marquette are always in competition over top home-grown recruits. Without stressing myself out too much, I’ll mention one that sticks out to me the most. Vander Blue was a four-star recruit from Madison Memorial in 2010. Since he went to school in Madison, the Badgers thought they had him on lock. He decided on Marquette and was a pretty key player for them in there elite eight run his junior year.

Then came the Hauser brothers. Sam was the first Hauser brother to go to college. He was a very decorated high school player for SPASH (Stevens Point Area Senior High). He and current Badger Trevor Anderson won a lot of games and a few State Titles together. Badger fans thought there was some possibility that he was going to come to Madison. But with his parents both being Marquette alum, he went to go play for the Golden Eagles.

Joey came on the scene two years later and was actually a higher ranked recruit than his brother was in 2016. Obviously, Wisconsin knew he was going to Marquette and he did just that. Markus Howard took the reins of the team last season and with he and the Hausers, the Golden Eagles became a big-time threat. But the chemistry between the brothers and Howard fell apart, landed Marquette a five seed and Ja Morant whipped them off the court in the first round.

That led to the Hauser’s surprise announcement. They were entering the transfer portal. If this were professional free agency or teams conducting a trade, Marquette would’ve issued a block for Wisconsin not to get them. Badger fans were on the edge of their seat in anticipation that the Hauser brothers were coming to Madison. They knew that Sam and Joey were going to have to sit out a year, but with a young team and a great 2020 recruiting class, a trip back to the final four seemed possible.

So many different articles were written. Rumors were flying high between all the news outlets in the state. The Badgers wanted Sam and Joey badly. Marquette didn’t care as long as they didn’t end up in Madison. After a few months of back and forth speculation, Sam went to Virginia and Joey went to Michigan State. The war was over, leaving everyone confused. Now Marquette has Howard and Wisconsin is rebuilding without Ethan Happ. Back to basketball.

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