Greg Gard met with the media yesterday and revealed not only that Jack Janicki will miss the rest of the regular season and maybe the postseason, too. He also spoke about Austin Rapp's illness that kept him out of the game against Ohio State. It was the flu that caused him to miss an earlier game. He thought he was through it, but then it knocked him down again. Gard said that Rapp has recovered, and each day he gets his endurance and strength back.
He also made a play on words in which he talked about the contagious problem that the Badgers have is not the flu, it's the lack of physicality against Wisconsin. He said, it's not the flu that spread through the team but instead a "non-physical" mindset and a lack of "bite" against Ohio State.
"Talk about contagious, that was contagious. Playing non-aggressive and non-physical. We all had that, we all had that. It spread throughout the team, so hopefully we've flushed that out and we are ready to get back on track. "Greg Gard
Greg Gard wants to see Wisconsin as the more physical team versus Iowa tomorrow
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Gard said, unlike Rapp's illness, it wasn't just one player or even just a couple of players. He said the whole team came into that game with a sluggish mindset, and it showed on the court. It was another game in the season that the Badgers started slow, but this time, they couldn't rally back for the win. "Ohio State took advantage," as they should.
Wisconsin has shown that they can beat any team in the country when they are the aggressor, the most physical team on the court, the "won't back down" attitude, etc. They've also shown they can get smoked when they decide to come in as if the game is already won or as if they don't need to give it their best effort.
Wisconsin has No. 1 Michigan's only loss of the season, but they also just lost by 17 to the Buckeyes. It's been a weird season, but as Gard said, hopefully, they left the contagious attitude of lackluster effort in Ohio and are ready to attack and beat Iowa tomorrow.