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.

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-December[4] with the team's record at 5–4.

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.

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.

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.

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.