1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

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1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats
NCAA Tournament 1981
Tournament dates March 12 – 30, 1981
National Championship The Spectrum
Philadelphia
NCAA Champions Indiana Hoosiers
Helms National Champions Indiana Hoosiers
Other champions Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (NIT)
Player of the Year
(Naismith, Wooden) Danny Ainge, BYU (Wooden)
Ralph Sampson, Virginia (Naismith)
Player of the Year
(Helms) Mark Aguirre, DePaul
NCAA Division I basketball seasons
«1979–80 1981–82»
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.

Contents
1 Rule Changes
2 Season headlines
3 Season outlook
3.1 Pre-season polls
4 Regular season
4.1 Conference winners and tournaments
4.2 Informal championships
4.3 Statistical leaders
5 Post-Season Tournaments
5.1 NCAA Tournament
5.1.1 Final Four
5.2 National Invitation Tournament
5.2.1 NIT Semifinals and Final
6 Awards
6.1 Consensus All-American teams
6.2 Major player of the year awards
6.3 Major coach of the year awards
6.4 Other major awards
7 Coaching changes
8 References
Rule Changes
On free throw attempts, players can now enter the free-throw lane after the foul
shooter releases the ball. Previously, players had to wait until the ball touched
either the rim or backboard before entering the lane.
The time allotted to replace a disqualified (fouled out) player was reduced from 60
to 30 seconds.
Starting in the 1981–82 season, the national third-place game was abolished.
Conferences were allowed to experiment with the three-point shot in conference
games only. The Southern Conference was the first to use the shot in their
conference games, adopting a distance of 22 feet.
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
Main article: 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
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
Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Kemper Arena
(Kansas City, Missouri)
(Semifinals and Finals) Kansas
Big Sky Conference Idaho Brian Kellerman, Idaho[10] 1981 Big Sky Conference
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) St. Joseph's
Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8) Duquesne & Rhode Island Earl Belcher, St.
Bonaventure[11] 1981 Eastern 8 Men's Basketball Tournament Civic Arena
(Pittsburgh) Pittsburgh
Eastern College Athletic
Conference (ECAC) Division I ECAC members
played as independents
during the regular season
(see note) 1981 ECAC Metro Region Tournament Nassau Coliseum
(Uniondale, New York) LIU-Brooklyn
1981 ECAC South Region Tournament Hampton Coliseum
(Hampton, Virginia) James Madison
ECAC North Northeastern Mike Ferrara, Colgate[12] 1981 ECAC North Men's
Basketball Tournament Cabot Center
(Boston) 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) 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 Association Fresno State Kevin Magee, UC Irvine[20]
1981 Pacific Coast Athletic Association 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 Southwest
Conference Men's Basketball Tournament HemisFair Arena
(San Antonio, Texas) Houston
Southwestern Athletic Conference Alcorn State & Southern-BR Harry Kelly, Texas
Southern & Robert Williams, Grambling State[24][25] 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[26]
1981 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Jacksonville Memorial
Coliseum
(Jacksonville, Florida) VCU
Trans America Athletic Conference Houston Baptist Benton Wade, Mercer[27] 1981
TAAC Men's Basketball Tournament Hirsch Coliseum
(Shreveport, Louisiana) Mercer
West Coast Athletic Conference Pepperdine &
San Francisco Quintin Dailey, San Francisco[28] No Tournament
Western Athletic Conference Utah & Wyoming Danny Ainge, BYU[29] No
Tournament
Note: From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely
organized sports federation of Northeastern colleges and universities, organized
Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were
independents in basketball. Each 1981 tournament winner received an automatic bid
to the 1981 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the
tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did. The ECAC North was a
separate, conventional conference.[30]

Informal championships
Conference Regular
Season Winner Conference
Player of the Year Conference
Tournament Tournament
Venue (City) Tournament
Winner
Philadelphia Big 5 La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple, & Villanova None
selected No Tournament
NOTE: All five teams finished with a 2–2 record in head-to-head competition,
resulting in a five-way tie.

Statistical leaders
Points Per Game
Rebounds Per Game
Field Goal Percentage
Free Throw Percentage
Player School PPG Player School RPG Player
School FG% Player School FT%
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

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 LSU
Kelly Tripucka F Senior Notre Dame
Danny Vranes F Senior Utah
Al Wood F Senior North Carolina
Major player of the year awards
Wooden Award: Danny Ainge, BYU
Naismith Award: Ralph Sampson, Virginia
Helms Player of the Year: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
Associated Press Player of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Virginia
UPI Player of the Year: Ralph Sampson, Virginia
NABC Player of the Year: Danny Ainge, BYU
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Ralph Sampson, Virginia
Adolph Rupp Trophy: Ralph Sampson, Virginia
Sporting News Player of the Year: Mark Aguirre, DePaul
Major coach of the year awards
Associated Press Coach of the Year: Ralph Miller, Oregon State
Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Ralph Miller, Oregon State
NABC Coach of the Year: Jack Hartman, Kansas State & Ralph Miller, Oregon State
UPI Coach of the Year: Ralph Miller, Oregon State
CBS/Chevrolet Coach of the Year: Dale Brown, LSU
Sporting News Coach of the Year: Dale Brown, LSU
Other major awards
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Terry Adolph, West Texas
State
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): John Pinone, Villanova
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Gary Springer, Iona
Coaching changes
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021)
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team Former
Coach Interim
Coach New
Coach Reason
Appalachian State Bobby Cremins Kevin Cantwell
Brown Joe Mullaney Mike Cingiser
Georgia Tech Dwane Morrison Bobby Cremins
Gonzaga Dan Fitzgerald Jay Hillock
Hardin–Simmons Jim Shuler Jim Hatfield
Mississippi State Jim Hatfield Bob Boyd
Providence Gary Walters Joe Mullaney
Rice Mike Schuler Tommy Suitts
Richmond Lou Goetz Dick Tarrant
Saint Joseph's Jim Lynam Jim Boyle
Samford Cliff Wettig Mike Hanks
Seton Hall Bill Raftery Hoddy Mahon
Tulane Roy Danforth Ned Fowler
UCLA Larry Brown Larry Farmer
UMass Ray Wilson Tom McLaughlin
Vanderbilt Richard Schmidt C. M. Newton
References
"And A Little Child Led Them". Sports Illustrated. 1981-04-06. Retrieved 2010-08-
07.
What a night to be in Bloomington
"2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). (p. 22). NCAA. Retrieved 7 August
2010.
"This Court Transplant Took". Sports Illustrated. 1982-03-01. 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" (PDF). NCAA. 2009.
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 Archived 2009-02-04
at the Wayback Machine, 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 Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback
Machine, 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 Archived 2012-09-22 at the Wayback
Machine, 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[permanent dead link],
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, Pacific-10
Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
2008–09 Big West Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback
Machine, 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
"GSU cagers land on all-SWAC team". The Shreveport Times. March 5, 1981. p. 31.
Retrieved August 14, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
"GSU honors Williams, Jackson". The Shreveport Times. April 23, 1981. p. 33.
Retrieved August 14, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
 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 Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback
Machine, Western Athletic Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
vte
NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons
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Categories: 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season1980–81 in American
college basketball
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