Jon Rothstein predicts unique Wisconsin basketball starting lineup

Fanduel's Jon Rothstein included an intriguing name in his projected starting lineup for the Wisconsin Badgers.

The 2026-27 season will be here before Greg Gard knows it, but in the meantime, he's stuck putting together his new starting five.

With only Austin Rapp and Nolan Winter returning to the starting lineup, Gard had his work cut out for him. Sure, the Badgers had quite a few returning bench players, but one of those is in line for an increased role, according to Rothstein.

Even with the transfer portal addition of Trey Autry, Rothstein sees guard Jack Janicki earning a spot in Gard's starting lineup.

Jon Rothstein's projected starting lineup:

• Guard: Owen Foxwell
• Guard: Jack Janicki
• Guard: Eian Elmer
• Forward: Austin Rapp
• Center: Nolan Winter

Janicki will be entering his junior season, and it's notable that he's started just one of the 63 games he's appeared in. He's averaged double-digit minutes in each of his first two seasons but has yet to average more than 2.2 points per game.

When looking at Autry, the former George Washington guard is someone who's started 68 games in 100 appearances. He's fresh off back-to-back seasons where he averages 10+ points per game. Somehow, that's not good enough in the eyes of Rothstein for him to make the starting five over Janicki.

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