Wisconsin Badgers could finally be at full strength when it hosts Rutgers

MADISON, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin might be able to use its full allotment of players for the first time in two weeks.

Sophomore forward Austin Rapp wasn't listed on Wisconsin's availability report Saturday morning, suggesting the sophomore should play for the Badgers when they host Rutgers (1 p.m./BTN).

Rapp has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury suffered in practice following the Purdue game. He missed Wisconsin's win over UCLA and Purdue and was a healthy scratch for the victory at Minnesota.

#Badgers Preview: A change to the starting lineup has been beneficial to Rutgers, which has leaned on Tariq Francis and its defense to win four of its last six heading into this afternoon's game at Wisconsin https://t.co/YLaliAJlvq
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) January 17, 2026

With only one day of practice, Gard chose to sit Rapp against a Gophers' offense that employs some offense sets similar to what Northwestern ran under Bill Carmody. It's a system that Gard knows tends to frustrate younger players, which is why he used lineups that were smaller and had more playing experience.

It's why Gard primarily used only senior Braeden Carrington and redshirt sophomore Jack Janicki off the bench, using both guards at the "3" and "4" position to help cut off Minnesota's back cuts.

"A rusty defensive player is not the best recipe for having success against that," Gard said.

The transition from the West Coast Conference, where Rapp is the reigning Freshman of the Year, to the Big Ten hasn't been easy for him. He's averaging 6.6 points in five games against teams from the Big Ten and Big 12, a sharp drop from where he averaged 13.8 point and 6.5 rebounds in 31 games for Portland.

Moved to the bench after starting the first seven games in favor of freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas, Rapp is shooting 43.1 percent (22-for-51), 28.1 percent (9-for-32) from three, and has 3.1 rebounds per game.

"I know he's very observant and he's a student of the game," Gard said. "I think he's seen what guys are doing, how, the impact that guys have had on the floor and what that is. When he goes back in, he's got to do the same."

Facing the Scarlet Knights is an important January stretch for Wisconsin, one with both resume-enhancing opportunities and pitfalls. Rutgers is likely the only Quad-4 game on UW's remaining Big Ten schedule. After a trip to Penn State, UW will host three teams with similar resumes in USC, Minnesota, and Ohio State.

Sweeping that homestand would be huge for Wisconsin's resume and head-to-head comparisons, and having all three games come in a seven-day stretch means the Badgers will need all available hands ready to compete.

"He's got to play with physicality and understand the success that the guys who have been on the floor have had and why they've had it, how they've had it, and what's made us better here in the last 10-15 days," Gard said of Rapp. The expectations are that you become us, we don't become you. The expectations are here. Go get to the expectations."

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