Wisconsin has an important Big Ten matchup at home today against Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights have been reeling a bit this season, but are coming off a win over Northwestern in their last game. It's a game Wisconsin is heavily favored to win, but anything can happen in Big Ten play, as Wisconsin itself proved with a victory over Michigan just last week. The big question will be whether Austin Rapp plays.
Rapp has been recovering from an injury and was cleared to play against Minnesota, but Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard decided to keep him off the floor, citing a lack of a full week of practice. Whether he plays against Rutgers will probably depend on how the game is going and whether Gard feels he practiced well in the last couple of days.
Greg Gard may limit Rapp's minutes depending on his play against Rutgers
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The full quote from Gard after the Minnesota game and why he chose not to play Rapp may reveal what the plan for Rapp is against Rutgers: "I just didn’t feel with him not really practicing full throttle, and specifically, going back to the same thing I talked about with Minnesota’s offensive attack, a rusty defensive player is not the best recipe for having success against that. So that’s why I decided just to go smaller and stay with the guys."
Gard hasn't been thrilled with Rapp's defense so far this season, and he went from being a starter to a bench player to even losing minutes off the bench. Fans are now even feeling a little superstitious, as Wisconsin's winning streak began in the first game he missed. They haven't lost with him not playing.
Rutgers may be the time to get Rapp back on the court, as they should be a very beatable opponent, and Rapp can shake some of the rust off. However, Gard may end up having a short leash if he feels Rapp still isn't giving it his full defensive effort.
Wisconsin and Rutgers tip off at 1 pm CT at the Kohl Center, and you can catch the action on the Big Ten Network.