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.
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
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP and UPI polls during the pre-season.[5]
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 (Eastern 8) | Duquesne & Rhode Island | Earl Belcher, St. Bonaventure[11] | 1981 Eastern 8 Men's Basketball Tournament | Civic Arena (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) | 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, 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 Association | 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 |
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.[28]
Statistical leaders
Post-Season Tournaments
NCAA 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
- Third Place – Virginia 78, LSU 74
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
- Third Place – Purdue 75, West Virginia 72
Awards
Consensus All-American teams
Major player of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
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, 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, Pacific-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
- ↑ Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
NCAA Division I men's basketball seasons |
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