DePaul @ Marquette preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 7, 2018 ) DePaul 69, Marquette 72

Sam and Joey Hauser swept the Big East men's basketball awards this week, with the former being named the conference's player of the week while the latter kept it all in the family by capturing freshman honors. The Hauser brothers look to continue their torrid play as 11th-ranked Marquette bids for its sixth straight victory on Wednesday against Big East rival DePaul at Fiserv Forum.

Sam Hauser, a junior forward, erupted for a career-best 31 points in the Golden Eagles' 74-71 win at Georgetown on Jan. 15 while scoring 20 of his 25 points in the second half as Marquette improved to 13-0 at home by rallying to Sunday's 79-68 victory versus Providence. "Joey and Sam have amazing chemistry. They play really, really well together," coach Steve Wojciechowski said, with Joey Hauser combining to shoot 8-of-15 from the field in the two games. DePaul has answered a three-game skid with wins in three of its last four, including Saturday's 97-93 decision at Seton Hall. Max Strus scored 22 points in that contest, but his misfire on an open 3-point attempt in the final seconds with his team trailing by one led to DePaul being bounced by Marquette in the first round of last year's Big East tournament.

TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, FS1

ABOUT DEPAUL (11-6, 3-3 Big East): Strus (18.3 points per game) leads a team with four players averaging in double digits, with fellow seniors Eli Cain (13.4) and Femi Olujobi (12.7) as well as sophomore Paul Reed (10.8) also providing an offensive punch. Olujobi had 22 points and a season-high 11 rebounds versus the Pirates while the 6-foot-9 Reed had a career-best 21 points and matched a personal best with 14 rebounds. Cain added 13 points to boost his career total to 1,411, although he shot just 9-of-35 from the field in the three games versus Marquette last season.

ABOUT MARQUETTE (16-3, 5-1): Big East leading scorer Markus Howard (24.4) showed no ill effects of the lower back tightness that forced him from the game versus the Hoyas by collecting 24 points and a career-high nine rebounds against the Friars. Junior Sacar Anim is averaging just 7.6 points and 3.1 rebounds, although he feels his impact is more pronounced at the defensive end of the court against a conference that boasts several elite guards. "I always start with the defensive end," the 6-foot-5 Anim said, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Because I know my duty is to stop the best players, so I got to take pride in that. I know it's going to help our team. Put us in a better position to win.”

TIP-INS

1. DePaul G Devin Gage is just 5-of-24 from the field in his last three games overall while Reed combined to go 4-of-13 in his three meetings with Marquette last season.

2. Sam Hauser scored 16 points and made two key free throws with 33 seconds to play in the Golden Eagles' first-round win over the Blue Demons.

3. Marquette has won 10 of its 13 home games by double digits.

PREDICTION: Marquette 83, DePaul 65