What we learned from Greg Gard's rotations in Badgers' exhibition loss to Oklahoma

10 players took the floor for Wisconsin in the exhibition, but all five starters saw at least 26 minutes and three topped the 30-minute threshold.

While Friday's minute allotment comes with a grain of salt, especially given the absence of transfer forward Elijah Gray, it gave a glimpse into how Gard sees the roster at this point.

A leader for No. 3 big (for now)

Wisconsin's starting front line is cemented. Rapp and Winter hold down the power forward and center spots. What happened when one or both were off the court was anything but clear.

From the glimpses media received at various open practices throughout the summer and fall along with the occasional chat with Gard, it appeared as though Lithuanian freshman Aleksas Bieliauskas had a leg up on the backup center position.

It proved to be true Friday. he was the first big off the bench in both halves and was thrust into the game just two minutes in after Winter sustained a bloody nose. He tied for the most minutes of any Badgers reserve, matching Jack Janicki's 13 minutes.

Bieliauskas finished with six points, three rebounds, three fouls and a turnover, playing the way you'd expect any true freshman: inconsistently.

His highlights included a pair of made three-pointers and an offensive rebound. But similar to Sunday's Red/White Scrimmage, Bieliauskas fell victim to foul trouble.

It's part of a learning curve for the international recruit, who is still adapting to the way basketball is called at the NCAA level.

Will Garlock played eight minutes off the bench, and while he went scoreless with no rebounds, the seven-footer took some baby steps toward a season-long goal.

"I need to play him to get him... not where he is on October 24, where will he be by February 24 if I can continue to get him experience and help him grow," Gard said. "Because physically, he has a lot of potential and a lot of talent."

While Bieliauskas's international experience has given him a head start over Garlock, it sounds like Wisconsin is banking on the Middleton native to win the long-distance race.

Gard played the 10 "most consistent" players

Leading up to Friday's exhibition, Gard indicated there were 12 guys who could be in the mix for a rotation spot.

But in a narrow game with anything but an exhibition feel, there wasn't much opportunity to experiment.

Instead, Gard leaned on those who had shown him a level of reliability throughout preseason practices.

"That 10 you saw has been, I think, the most consistent," Gard said. "Those 10 that I played tonight were the ones I needed to really get a deep look at."

The only regret Gard seemed to have with his rotation was giving 6-foot-7 guard Hayden Jones just one stint that lasted three minutes.

"That's on me of not getting him in there," Gard said. "He's shown me enough that he should be. [I'm] trying to get him on the floor more."

While the 11th year head coach did acknowledge Zach Kinziger, Riccardo Greppi and Jack Robison have had some positive moments in practice, he needed to see more action from the condensed 10-man group in order to learn more about a roster that underwent a complete overhaul this offseason.

John Blackwell to play huge minutes

Blackwell led Wisconsin in average playing time last season, edging out All-American John Tonje by a fraction of a minute.

Now positioned as the top option, Blackwell could be in store for even more on-court action.

The star junior sat out for merely four minutes Friday night, and he played the final 12 straight.

He put on a midrange clinic, backing down defenders from the perimeter or stopping a dribble-drive on a dime and spinning into a fadeaway jumper.

"God does he got a good mid-range game," Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser said of Blackwell. "He's really tough to guard in different ball screen coverages because he can shoot it, and he can go by you, and he's kind of strong, bounces off you."

Blackwell finished with a game-high 20 points, while knocking down 50 percent of his field goal attempts.