1995–96 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 17-15 UW Field House(capacity: 11,500) Brian Hecker Shawn Hood Brad Soderberg 1st Dick Bennett 8-10 1995–96 Big Ten Big Ten Conference Wisconsin Badgers logo.svg Wisconsin Badgers NIT Tournament Second Round The 1995–96 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1995-96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was head coach Dick Bennett's first season leading the Badgers. The team played its home games in Madison, Wisconsin at the UW Field House. Wisconsin finished the season 17–15, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in eighth place. The Badgers returned to the postseason by accepting a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, in which they beat Manhattan before falling to Illinois State in the second round. Offseason Head coach Stan Van Gundy was fired on March 14, 1995, after one season that ended in a disappointing 13–14 record. The university announced the hiring of Dick Bennett as the 13th head coach in program history on March 31, 1995. Bennett had compiled a 361–188 (.658) record over 19 collegiate seasons at UW-Stevens Point and UW-Green Bay. Just prior to taking his "dream job" in Madison,Myslenski Skip November 22, 1995 FOR YEARS DICK BENNETT, WHO GREW UP IN WISCONSIN, DREAMED OF BEING WISCONSIN'S BASKETBALL COACH AND MICHIGAN NATIVE TOM IZZO DREAMED OF HAVING THE HEAD JOB AT MICHIGAN STATE. AS THE 1995-96 SEASON BEGINS, THOSE DREAMS ARE A REALITY. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-11-22-9511220128-story.html 2020-06-02 Chicago Tribune en-US Bennett had led UW-Green Bay to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances out of the Mid-Continent Conference and Midwestern Collegiate Conference. Though 6-foot-7 Sam Okey had verbally committed to Van Gundy the previous year, the McDonald's All-American honored his commitment to play in-state for the Badgers. Okey was regarded across the country as a top 15 recruit despite hailing from tiny Cassville (pop. 1,025) in southwest Wisconsin.Gates A.J. August 20, 2015 "Slammin" Sam Okey takes his rightful spot in WBCA Hall of Fame https://www.swnews4u.com/sports/six-rivers-conference/slammin-sam-okey-takes-his-rightful-spot-in-wbca-hall-of-fame/ 2020-06-02 www.swnews4u.com Season summary Wisconsin started the Bennett-era with losses to a pair of top teams at the Maui Invitational, No. 3 Villanova and defending national champion UCLA (No. 4). In the midst of attrition, the Badgers still put together two separate four-game winning streaks during non-conference play, including a home defeat of Temple, 57–54, in overtime. Incumbent point guard Darnell Hoskins started the first nine games, then transferred to his hometown University of Dayton in mid-DecemberFeuerherd Vic December 19, 1995 UW's Hoskins calls it quits https://journaltimes.com/news/local/uws-hoskins-calls-it-quits/article_c70324e0-efbd-5527-abec-7c7765285f05.html 2020-06-29 Journal Times en with the team's record at 5–4. Freshman Duany Duany suffered a season-ending injury to his right foot during practice the weekend of Thanksgiving and played only two games before taking a medical redshirt. Sophomore guard Sean Mason also suffered a season-ending right knee injuryFeuerherd Vic January 5, 1996 UW loses Mason due to knee injury https://journaltimes.com/news/local/uw-loses-mason-due-to-knee-injury/article_9c47352e-34a6-5115-b34a-1d6d317c0f37.html 2020-06-04 Journal Times en late in a win over No. 21 Michigan, 51–46. In that game, the Badgers held the Wolverines to three second-half field goals to make Bennett the first Wisconsin coach to win his Big Ten opener since Walter "Doc" Meanwell in 1912. The benefits of Bennett's defense-first mentality were evident on other occasions. Wisconsin finished the season 10–1 when holding opponents to fewer than 60 points. The Badgers also held Michigan State scoreless for the first 9:38 of the teams' game in Madison. Wisconsin managed to go above .500 in conference play (3–2) for the first time after consecutive wins with only seven scholarship players available. First the Badgers beat No. 11 Iowa, 80–71, on January 13, 1996, behind 23 points from Okey. It was the third of 12 sellouts the team took part in away from Maui. The next game, defense and Mosezell Peterson's 23–11 double-double spurred Wisconsin to the aforementioned 61–48 win over visiting Michigan State. Beyond Okey's all-around brilliance, the emergence of freshman guard Hennssy Auriental eased the loss of Hoskins. After scoring in double figures in nine of 11 contests earlier in the year, Auriental made a game-tying three-pointer with under a minute left to help Wisconsin outlast Minnesota in overtime on January 24, 1996. The Montreal native also hit the game-winning jumper with seven seconds left at Illinois on February 3 to propel the Badgers to a 57–56 win. On February 21, 1996, Northwestern completed a season sweep of the Badgers at the Field House when Geno Carlisle hit for 39 points in a game televised by ESPN. The loss was part of a 2–5 closing stretch that put an NCAA Tournament bid out of reach, despite a buzzer-beater by sophomore Sean Daugherty to beat No. 16 Penn State on March 6. Wisconsin settled for an NIT bid. Postseason The team hosted a first-round NIT game against Manhattan at the UW Field House. The Badgers held the Jaspers without a field goal for the final 11:28 of the game to pull out a 55–42 win. However, Peterson, the team's second-leading scorer, dislocated his left knee cap in the victory, an injury that would ultimately end the sophomore's career.April 12, 1997 UW's Peterson calls it quits https://journaltimes.com/news/uws-peterson-calls-it-quits/article_56d1658e-ed73-522e-9b7d-cc28dea9b8d5.html 2020-06-04 Journal Times en Wisconsin hosted Illinois State in the second round. Despite 28 points from Okey, a career-high to that point, the Redbirds advanced with a convincing 77–62 win. Awards Sam Okey Big Ten Freshman of the Year (coaches and media) All-Big Ten Honorable mention (media) Roster 1995 Wisconsin Badgers y Osita Nwachukwu 0 F n SR 6 8 230 Awo-Mbieri, Imo, Nigeria C Duany Duany 3 G 6 4 170 FR Bloomington, IN n yes y Sam Okey 4 F 6 7 230 FR Cassville, WI n Hennssy Auriantal 5 G 6 1 180 FR Montreal n Darnell Hoskins 10 G 6 0 170 JR Dayton, OH n Mosezell Peterson 13 G 6 4 200 SO Louisville, KY n Jeremy Hall G 14 170 5 10 FR Garrett, KY n Shawn Carlin 20 G Middleton, WI W 6 3 SR 180 Sean Mason 22 G 6 2 175 SO Country Club Hills, IL n y Mike Kosolcharoen 23 G 6 1 200 FR Adams, WI n W David Burkemper 25 G 6 1 205 SO Hubertus, WI n W D.J. Walker 32 G 185 6 3 FR Milwaukee, WI n Brian Vraney F 33 6 6 SO 230 Valders, WI n W Paul Grant 40 C 6 11 235 SR West Bloomfield, MI y yes I basketball Booker Coleman 41 F 6 9 225 SO Jamestown, NY n Sean Daugherty 52 F 6 10 230 SO Vincennes, IN n Donald Hayes F 6 5 198 SO Madison, WI y W Adam Shafer SO G/F n I)(W 6 4 180 Downers Grove, IL Erik Malinowski F Watertown, WI n W * Dick Bennett (Ripon) * Brad Soderberg (Ripon) Shawn Hood Brian Hecker http://images.library.wisc.edu/UW/EFacs/UWAthletics/Basketball/BBall1997/M/0049.jpg 2019-08-05 1995-96 Wisconsin Badgers Roster and Stats https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/wisconsin/1996.html College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com en 2020-06-01 Schedule no yes yes |- !colspan=8 style="Wisconsin Badgers"| Regular Season 11/20/1995 Maui Invitational yes yes Villanova 3 Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI 58-66 0-1 Peterson 17 Daugherty 9 Hoskins 7 2,400 no 11/21/1995 yes yes UCLA 4 Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI 57-68 0-2 Okey 21 Okey 9 Peterson 4 2,400 no Maui Invitational 11/22/1995 Maui Invitational yes yes Chaminade Lahaina Civic Center Maui, HI 104-66 1-2 Nwachukwu 17 Nwachukwu 10 Okey 6 2,400 no 11/28/1995 yes Northern Illinois UW Field House Madison, WI 89-55 2-2 Peterson 18 Daugherty 11 Okey 3 10,827 no 12/2/1995 yes Temple UW Field House Madison, WI 57-54 OT 3-2 Hoskins 16 Mason, Okey 6 Auriental, Mason, Okey 2 11,218 no 12/5/1995 yes y Wright State Ervin J. Nutter Center Dayton, OH 94-91 4-2 Hoskins 22 Daugherty 6 Hoskins 9 8,032 no 12/9/1995 yes St. Bonaventure UW Field House Madison, WI 62-76 4-3 Okey 27 Okey 14 Okey 3 10,967 no 12/11/1995 yes Providence Providence Civic Center Providence, RI 57-58 4-4 Auriental 19 Okey 10 Hoskins 5 8,222 no 12/14/1995 yes Valparaiso UW Field House Madison, WI 90-73 5-4 Okey 23 Okey 9 Okey 5 11,015 no 12/23/1995 yes UW-Milwaukee UW Field House Madison, WI 94-63 6-4 Mason 20 Nwachukwu 9 Carlin, Hall, Okey 3 11,128 no 12/28/1995 Eastern Illinois UW Field House Madison, WI 105-70 7-4 Hall 19 Daugherty 8 Okey 6 10,913 no 12/31/1995 yes Marquette UW Field House Madison, WI 55-46 8-4 Nwachukwu 16 Nwachukwu 12 Okey 3 11,719 no 1/3/1996 Michigan 21 UW Field House Madison, WI 51-46 9-4(1-0) Peterson 17 Daugherty 12 Okey 4 11,859 no 1/7/1996 y Penn State Rec Hall University Park, PA 50-79 9-5(1-1) Auriental 10 Daugherty, Okey 6 Auriental, Carlin 2 6,288 no 1/10/1996 y Indiana Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN 55-81 9-6(1-2) Hall 13 Okey 9 Hall 7 16,674 no 1/13/1996 Iowa 11 UW Field House Madison, WI 80-71 10-6(2-2) Okey 23 Peterson 9 Hall 8 11,924 no 1/17/1996 Michigan State UW Field House Madison, WI 61-48 11-6(3-2) Peterson 23 Peterson 11 Okey 4 10,975 no 1/20/1996 y Northwestern Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL 52-62 11-7(3-3) Peterson 12 Nwachukwu, Okey 8 Hall 3 6,716 no 1/24/1996 Minnesota UW Field House Madison, WI 73-65 OT 12-7(4-3) Daugherty 17 Daugherty 12 Auriental, Okey, Peterson 4 11,483 no 1/31/1996 y Ohio State St. John Arena Columbus, OH 55-63 ESPN2 12-8(4-4) Okey 16 Okey 6 Hall 4 11,917 no 2/3/1996 Illinois Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 57-56 13-8(5-4) Hall 15 Daugherty 13 Hall 3 16,450 no 2/7/1996 Purdue 14 UW Field House Madison, WI 42-75 13-9(5-5) Daugherty 13 Daugherty 7 Carlin 2 11,713 no 2/10/1996 Ohio State UW Field House Madison, WI 62-56 14-9(6-5) Auriental 18 Nwachukwu 7 Auriental, Okey, Peterson 4 11,500 no 2/17/1996 y Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 66-70 14-10(6-6) Okey 14 Okey 8 Okey 5 14,379 no 2/26/1996 Northwestern UW Field House Madison, WI 71-82 ESPN 14-11(6-7) Okey 17 Nwachukwu 10 Okey 7 11,266 no 2/24/1996 y Michigan State Breslin Student Events Center East Lansing, MI 73-52 15-11(7-7) Daugherty 16 Daugherty 7 Hall 5 15,138 no 2/28/1996 y Iowa 20 Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA 54-69 15-12(7-8) Daugherty 22 Okey 10 Auriental, Okey 4 15,500 no 3/2/1996 Indiana UW Field House Madison, WI 68-76 15-13(7-9) Okey, Peterson 16 Okey 6 Auriental, Okey 4 11,993 no 3/6/1996 Penn State 16 UW Field House Madison, WI 54-52 16-13(8-9) Okey 17 Nwachukwu 11 Okey 5 11,732 no 3/9/1996 y Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI 54-69 16-14(8-10) Peterson 12 Peterson 7 Hall, Okey 4 13,562 no |- !colspan=8 style="Wisconsin Badgers"|National Invitation Tournament 3/13/1996 NIT First Round yes Manhattan UW Field House Madison, WI 55-42 17-14(8-10) Auriental 15 Okey 10 Okey 6 8,913 no 3/18/1996 NIT Second Round yes Illinois State UW Field House Madison, WI 62-77 17-15(8-10) Okey 28 Okey 10 Okey 6 11,111 no no Player statistics +Individual player statistics (Final)The University of Wisconsin Collection: Wisconsin 1996-97: Wisconsin 1996-97 http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/UW/UW-idx?type=turn&entity=UW.BBall1996.p0073&id=UW.BBall1996&isize=M digicoll.library.wisc.edu 2020-06-01MinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree ThrowsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgATOBlkStlPFOkey, Sam3232102432.042313.2151343.4402172.292100142.7042186.8100774235101Peterson, Mosezell302182427.534411.5118282.4182996.30279107.7381133.8506211862Daugherty, Sean323199631.133210.4125272.4601239.3087096.7292026.33356132295Hoskins, Darnell9927730.8859.42657.456927.3332431.774182.0352301517Auriental, Hennssy322190428.32778.796213.4513588.3985076.658762.4677714371Mason, Sean131034026.21128.63793.3981031.3232833.848312.4222761529Duany, Duany202211.0157.547.57134.750441.00031.500001Hall, Jeremy28952618.81957.060155.38749132.3712633.788361.358572925Nwachukwu, Osita311670222.61815.859119.49600.00063108.5831675.4114652187Carlin, Shawn291047016.2893.12675.3472156.3751620.800331.1363421849Vraney, Brian130302.3231.8914.64300.00056.833131.000003Coleman, Booker2512168.6261.01021.47600.000618.333592.401218336Hayes, Donald2063.021.0111.00000.00000.00021.000000Kosolcharoen, Mike1801086.0100.6420.20006.00026.333160.9371218Burkemper, David3031.000.000.00000.00000.00000.001000Malinowski, Erik2021.000.000.00000.00000.00000.000000Total32 -645040.3211466.17261672.434189551.343473680.696363708107133.541548691201594Opponents32 -645040.3207364.87331704.430199564.353408610.669362689105132.8408488118225728 Legend  GP Games played  GS Games started Avg Average per game  FG Field goals made FGA Field-goal attempts Off Offensive rebounds Def Defensive rebounds  A Assists  TOTurnovers Blk Blocks Stl Steals High Team high Records & trivia Okey became the first player in Big Ten history to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and blocked shots over a full season.1999-01-24 It's All Okey-Dokey for Wisconsin https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-24-sp-1311-story.html 2020-06-02 Los Angeles Times en-US References Category:Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball seasons Wisconsin Wisconsin Badgers men's b Wisconsin Badgers men's b Wisconsin