1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 28, 1980, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1981 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 30, 1981 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia. The Indiana Hoosiers won their fourth NCAA national championship with a 63–50 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

1 Season headlines
2 Season outlook
- 2.1 Pre-season polls
3 Regular season
- 3.1 Conference winners and tournaments
- 3.2 Statistical leaders
4 Post-Season Tournaments
- 4.1 NCAA Tournament
  - 4.1.1 Final Four
- 4.2 National Invitation Tournament
  - 4.2.1 NIT Semifinals and Final
5 Awards
6 References

Season headlines

After a nearly even first half, the Indiana Hoosiers pulled away from the North Carolina Tar Heels to clinch the school's fourth National championship, 63–50 in Philadelphia. The win marked Hoosiers coach Bob Knight's second championship and marked UNC coach Dean Smith's sixth trip to the Final Four without a championship. Indiana was led by a dominant second half by sophomore Isiah Thomas.^[1]
There was some question as to if the March 30th championship game would be postponed or cancelled as President Ronald Reagan was shot in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr.. Once it was confirmed that President Reagan would survive, the game was played as scheduled.^[2]
Oregon State senior Steve Johnson set an NCAA record for season field goal percentage with a .746 mark. Johnson would also graduate with the NCAA career field goal percentage record (.678)^[3]
Nolan Richardson led Tulsa to a 15-game improvement over the previous year in his first year at the helm. The Golden Hurricane went 26–7 and won the NIT. Richardson came to Tulsa fresh off of a 1980 NJCAA Championship and brought four of his former Western Texas College starters to Tulsa, including Paul Pressey.^[4]
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference played its first season as a member of NCAA's Division I.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP and UPI polls during the pre-season.^[5]

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	Kentucky (30)
2	DePaul (18)
3	Louisville (2)
4	Maryland (2)
5	Indiana (2)
6	UCLA (2)
7	Oregon State (1)
8	Virginia (1)
9	Ohio State (1)
10	Notre Dame
11	Missouri
12	Louisiana State
13	North Carolina
14	Iowa
15	Texas A&M
16	Georgetown
17	St. John's
18	Brigham Young
19	Syracuse
20	Arkansas

UPI Coaches
Ranking	Team
1	Kentucky
2	DePaul
3	Louisville
4	Indiana
5	Maryland
6	Oregon State
7	Virginia
8	UCLA
9	Ohio State
10	Missouri
11	North Carolina
12	Notre Dame
13	Louisiana State
14	Texas A&M
15	Iowa
16	Georgetown
17	Brigham Young
18	Kansas State
19	St. John's
20	Arizona State

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

Conference	Regular Season Winner^[6]	Conference Player of the Year	Conference Tournament	Tournament Venue (City)	Tournament Winner
Atlantic Coast Conference	Virginia	Ralph Sampson, Virginia^[7]	1981 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament	Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland)	North Carolina
Big East Conference	Boston College	John Bagley, Boston College^[8]	1981 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament	Carrier Dome (Syracuse, New York)	Syracuse
Big Eight Conference	Missouri	Andre Smith, Nebraska^[9]	1981 Big Eight Men's Basketball Tournament	Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri) (Semifinals and Finals)	Kansas
Big Sky Conference	Idaho	Brian Kellerman, Idaho^[10]	1981 Big Sky Men's Basketball Tournament	Kibbie Dome (Moscow, Idaho)	Idaho
Big Ten Conference	Indiana	None Selected	No Tournament
East Coast Conference	American (East) Lafayette & Rider (West)	Len Hatzenbeller, Drexel	1981 East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	The Palestra (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)	St. Joseph's
Eastern Athletic Association	Duquesne & Rhode Island	Earl Belcher, St. Bonaventure^[11]	1981 Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)	Pittsburgh
ECAC North	Northeastern	Mike Ferrara, Colgate^[12]	1981 ECAC North Men's Basketball Tournament	Cabot Center (Boston, Massachusetts)	Northeastern
Ivy League	Princeton	Larry Lawrence, Dartmouth^[13]	No Tournament
Metro Conference	Louisville	David Burns, Saint Louis & Derek Smith, Louisville	1981 Metro Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Freedom Hall (Louisville, Kentucky)	Louisville
Mid-American Conference	Ball State, Northern Illinois, Toledo, W. Michigan & Bowling Green	Harvey Knuckles, Toledo^[14]	1981 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament	Crisler Arena (Ann Arbor, Michigan)	Ball State
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	North Carolina A&T	James Ratiff, Howard	1981 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Winston–Salem Memorial Coliseum (Winston-Salem, North Carolina)	Howard^[15]
Midwestern City Conference	Xavier	Darius Clemons, Loyola (IL) & Rubin Jackson, Oklahoma City^[16]	1981 Midwestern City Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Final at Riverfront Coliseum (Cincinnati, Ohio)	Oklahoma City
Missouri Valley Conference	Wichita State	Lewis Lloyd, Drake^[17]	1981 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Levitt Arena (Wichita, Kansas)	Creighton
Ohio Valley Conference	Western Kentucky	Jerry Beck, Middle Tennessee St.^[18]	1981 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	E. A. Diddle Arena (Bowling Green, Kentucky)	Western Kentucky
Pacific-10 Conference	Oregon State	Steve Johnson, Oregon State^[19]	No Tournament
Pacific Coast Athletic Conference	Fresno State	Kevin Magee, UC Irvine^[20]	1981 PCAA Men's Basketball Tournament	Anaheim Convention Center (Anaheim, California)	Fresno State
Southeastern Conference	LSU	Dominique Wilkins, Georgia^[21]	1981 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament	Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex (Birmingham, Alabama)	Mississippi
Southern Conference	Appalachian State, Davidson & UT-Chattanooga	Charles Payton, Appalachian State^[22]	1981 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	Roanoke Civic Center (Roanoke, Virginia)	UT-Chattanooga
Southland Conference	Lamar	Mike Olliver, Lamar^[23]	1981 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament	McDonald Gym (Beaumont, Texas) (Semifinals and finals)	Lamar
Southwest Conference	Arkansas	Rob Williams, Houston	1981 SWC Men's Basketball Tournament	HemisFair Arena (San Antonio, Texas)	Houston
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Alcorn State & Southern-BR		1981 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament	LSU Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)	Southern-BR
Sun Belt Conference	VCU, South Alabama & UAB	Ed Rains, South Alabama^[24]	1981 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Tournament	Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (Jacksonville, Florida)	VCU
Trans America Athletic Conference	Houston Baptist	Benton Wade, Mercer^[25]	1981 TAAC Men's Basketball Tournament	Hirsch Coliseum (Shreveport, Louisiana)	Mercer
West Coast Athletic Conference	Pepperdine & San Francisco	Quintin Dailey, San Francisco^[26]	No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference	Utah & Wyoming	Danny Ainge, BYU^[27]	No Tournament

Statistical leaders

Player	School	PPG	Player	School	RPG	Player	School	FG%	Player	School	FT%
Points Per Game			Rebounds Per Game			Field Goal Percentage			Free Throw Percentage
Zam Fredrick	S. Carolina	28.9	Darryl Watson	Miss. Valley St.	14.0	Steve Johnson	Oregon St.	74.6	Dave Hidahl	Portland St.	92.7
Mike Ferrara	Colgate	28.6	Wayne Sappleton	Loyola (IL)	13.4	Kevin Magee	UC Irvine	67.1	Jack Moore	Nebraska	92.2
Kevin Magee	UC Irvine	27.5	Michael Cage	San Diego St.	13.1	Orlando Woolridge	Notre Dame	65.0	Steve Bontrager	Oral Roberts	90.1
Lewis Lloyd	Drake	26.3	Kevin Magee	UC Irvine	12.5	Buck Williams	Maryland	64.7	Jim Stack	Northwestern	90.0
Rob Williams	Houston	25.0	LaSalle Thompson	Texas	12.3	Thomas Best	Lafayette	64.3	John Leonard	Manhattan	89.1

Post-Season Tournaments

NCAA Tournament

Main article: 1981 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

Indiana won its fourth NCAA title with a 63–50 win over North Carolina and coach Dean Smith. Precocious sophomore Isiah Thomas was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player in a title game delayed due to the shooting of President Ronald Reagan.

Final Four

Played at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

National Semifinals			National Finals

E1	Virginia	65
W2	North Carolina	78
			W2	North Carolina	50
			ME3	Indiana	63
ME3	Indiana	67
MW1	LSU	49

Third Place – Virginia 78, LSU 74

National Invitation Tournament

Main article: 1981 National Invitation Tournament

Coach Nolan Richardson led Tulsa to the NIT Championship in his first year as a division I head coach – an 86–84 win over Syracuse. The Golden Hurricane's Greg Stewart was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

NIT Semifinals and Final

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Semifinals			Finals

	Syracuse	70
	Purdue	63
				Syracuse	84
				Tulsa	86
	West Virginia	87
	Tulsa	89

Third Place – Purdue 75, West Virginia 72

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

Main article: 1981 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Mark Aguirre	F	Junior	DePaul
Danny Ainge	G	Senior	Brigham Young
Steve Johnson	C	Senior	Oregon State
Ralph Sampson	C	Sophomore	Virginia
Isiah Thomas	G	Sophomore	Indiana

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Sam Bowie	C	Sophomore	Kentucky
Jeff Lamp	F	Senior	Virginia
Durand Macklin	F	Senior	Louisiana State
Kelly Tripucka	F	Senior	Notre Dame
Danny Vranes	F	Senior	Utah
Al Wood	F	Senior	North Carolina

References

^ "And A Little Child Led Them". Sports Illustrated. 1981-04-06. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124346/index.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
^ What a night to be in Bloomington
^ "2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book". (p. 22). NCAA. http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2008/2008RB.pdf. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
^ "This Court Transplant Took". Sports Illustrated. 1982-03-01. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125275/index.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-07.
^ * ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
^ "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section". NCAA. 2009. http://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2009/Standings.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-01.
^ 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 Big East Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big East Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ Men's Basketball Award Winners, Big Sky Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Awards section, Atlantic 10 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ America East Men's Basketball Players of the Year, America East Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers, Ivy League, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 MAC Men's BAsketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 MEAC men's basketball media guide, MEAC, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 Horizon League Men's Basketball Record Book, Horizon League, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 MVC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Missouri Valley Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide, Ohio Valley Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 Pacific-10 Men's Basketball Media Guide- Honors Section, Pac 10 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 Big West Men's Basketball Media Guide, Big West Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 SEC Men's Basketball Record Book, Southeastern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ Atlantic Sun men's basketball record book, Atlantic Sun Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
^ 2009–10 WAC Men's Basketball Media Guide, Western Athletic Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06

NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons

Pre-regulation	1895–96 • 1896–97 • 1897–98 • 1898-99 • 1899–00 • 1900–01 • 1901–02 • 1902–03 • 1903–04 • 1904–05 • 1905–06

IAAUS	1906–07 • 1907–08 • 1908–09 • 1909–10

NCAA, pre-tournament era	1910–11 • 1911–12 • 1912–13 • 1913–14 • 1914–15 • 1915–16 • 1916–17 • 1917–18 • 1918–19 • 1919–20 • 1920–21 • 1921–22 • 1922–23 • 1923–24 • 1924–25 • 1925–26 • 1926–27 • 1927–28 • 1928–29 • 1929–30 • 1930–31 • 1931–32 • 1932–33 • 1933–34 • 1934–35 • 1935–36 • 1936–37 • 1937–38

NCAA Tournament era	1938–39 • 1939–40 • 1940–41 • 1941–42 • 1942–43 • 1943–44 • 1944–45 • 1945–46 • 1946–47 • 1947–48 • 1948–49 • 1949–50 • 1950–51 • 1951–52 • 1952–53 • 1953–54 • 1954–55 • 1955–56 • 1956–57 • 1957–58 • 1958–59 • 1959–60 • 1960–61 • 1961–62 • 1962–63 • 1963–64 • 1964–65 • 1965–66 • 1966–67 • 1967–68 • 1968–69 • 1969–70 • 1970–71 • 1971–72 • 1972–73 • 1973–74 • 1974–75 • 1975–76 • 1976–77 • 1977–78 • 1978–79 • 1979–80 • 1980–81 • 1981–82 • 1982–83 • 1983–84 • 1984–85 • 1985–86 • 1986–87 • 1987–88 • 1988–89 • 1989–90 • 1990–91 • 1991–92 • 1992–93 • 1993–94 • 1994–95 • 1995–96 • 1996–97 • 1997–98 • 1998–99 • 1999–00 • 2000–01 • 2001–02 • 2002–03 • 2003–04 • 2004–05 • 2005–06 • 2006–07 • 2007–08 • 2008–09 • 2009–10 • 2010–11 • 2011–12

NCAA Division I men's basketball statistical leaders

Career	Points • Rebounds • Assists • Steals • Blocks • Three-point field goals • Free throws • Games • 2000 points and 1000 rebounds

Season	Points • Rebounds • Assists • Steals • Blocks • Three-point field goals

Game	Points • Rebounds • Assists • Steals • Blocks • Three-point field goals

Indiana Hoosiers Men's Basketball 1980–81 NCAA Champions

11 Isiah Thomas (MOP) \| 20 Jim Thomas \| 24 Randy Wittman \| 30 Ted Kitchel \| 31 Tony Brown \| 32 Landon Turner \| 40 Glen Grunwald \| 45 Ray Tolbert Head coach Bob Knight Assistant coaches Jim Crews \| Gerry Gimelstob