1980–81 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

1980–81 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
A blue block M with maize-colored borders and the word Michigan across the middle.
1981 NIT Tournament, Quarterfinals
Conference Big Ten Conference
1980–81 record 18-11 (8-10 Big Ten)
Head coach Bill Frieder
Assistant coach Mike Boyd
Assistant coach Tom Kempf
Assistant coach Don Sicko
MVP Mike McGee
Captain Paul Heuerman
Captain Thad Garner
Home arena Crisler Arena
1980–81 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#9 Indiana 14 – 4   .778     26 – 9   .743
#13 Iowa 13 – 5   .722     21 – 7   .750
#19 Illinois 12 – 6   .667     21 – 8   .724
Purdue 10 – 8   .556     21 – 11   .656
Minnesota 9 – 9   .500     19 – 11   .633
Ohio State 9 – 9   .500     14 – 13   .519
Michigan 8 – 10   .444     19 – 11   .633
Michigan State 7 – 11   .389     13 – 14   .481
Wisconsin 5 – 13   .278     11 – 16   .407
Northwestern 3 – 15   .167     9 – 18   .333
Rankings from AP Poll)

The 1980–81 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference. Under the direction of first-year head coach Bill Frieder, the team finished tied for sixth in the Big Ten Conference.[1] The team earned an invitation to the 1981 National Invitation Tournament.[2] Although the team was ranked in the Associated Press Top Twenty Poll for eleven of the sixteen weeks reaching a peak at number nine, it began and finished the season unranked[3] and it also ended the season unranked in the final UPI Coaches' Poll.[4] The team was led by All-American Mike McGee.[5] The team set the current Big Ten conference record by playing in six overtime games.[6] That season McGee also set the current conference record for career field goals attempted (2077).[7] McGee set several other records, which have since been broken: career points (2439, broken in 1989 by Glen Rice),[7] career points (conference games only) (1503, broken in 1995),[8] single-season field goals made (309, broken in 1986)[7] and career field goals made (1010, broken in 1993).[7] Mark Bodnar became the first Michigan Wolverines player on record to total 13 assists in a game on December 13, 1980 against the Dayton Flyers, eclipsing Mark Henry's 1970 total of 12. No Wolverine would surpass 13 assists in a game until Gary Grant twice recorded 14 in December 1987.[9] The team's field goal percentage of 51.1 was a school record that lasted four years.[10] McGee's 3941 minutes and 34.3 minutes per game stood as school records until 1987 and 1984 respectively.[11] Marty Bodnar earned first team Academic All-American honors, while Mark Bodnar was a third team selection.[12] Paul Heuerman and Thad Garner served as team captains, while McGee earned team MVP.[13] McGee ended his career with a school record 112 starts. The record would last for six years.[11]

In the 32-team National Invitation Tournament, Michigan advanced to the elite eight round by defeating the Duquesne Dukes 74–58 and Toledo Rockets 80–68 before losing to Syracuse Orange 91–76.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP Poll[3] 18 15 13 12 10 9 16 17 14 13 18

See also

Team players drafted into the NBA

Seven players from this team were selected in the NBA Draft.[14][15][16][17]

Year Round Pick Overall Player NBA Club
1981 1 19 19 Mike McGee Los Angeles Lakers
1981 3 23 69 John Johnson Boston Celtics
1981 5 20 112 Paul Heuerman Phoenix Suns
1982 7 3 141 Thad Gardner Utah Jazz
1983 10 7 213 Ike Person Detroit Pistons
1984 1 12 12 Tim McCormick Cleveland Cavaliers
1984 10 19 225 Dan Pelekoudas Detroit Pistons

References

  1. ↑ 2007-08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. p. 198.
  2. ↑ 2007-08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. p. 183.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 68–83. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  4. ↑ "Division I Records" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 85. Retrieved 2010-08-28.
  5. ↑ "All-Time Accolades". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. pp. 4–7.
  6. ↑ "Big Ten Basketball 2009-10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 32. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 "Big Ten Basketball 2009-10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 26. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  8. ↑ "Big Ten Basketball 2009-10 Media Guide". CBS Interactive. p. 39. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  9. ↑ 2007-08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. p. 176.
  10. ↑ "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 10. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "All-Time Records". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. p. 20. Retrieved 2010-09-09.
  12. ↑ 2007-08 Men's Basketball Media Guide. University of Michigan. 2007. pp. 144–7.
  13. ↑ "All-Time Accolades". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. pp. 9–10.
  14. ↑ "1981 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  15. ↑ "1982 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  16. ↑ "1983 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-04-25.
  17. ↑ "1984 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 2014-04-25.