1980–81 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team

American college basketball season

1980–81 Idaho Vandals men's basketball

Big Sky champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	25–4 (12–2 Big Sky)
Head coach	Don Monson (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Barry Collier Rod Snook
Home arena	Kibbie Dome
Seasons← 1979–80 1981–82 →

1980–81 Big Sky men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Idaho †	12	–	2	.857	25	–	4	.862
Montana	11	–	3	.786	19	–	9	.679
Montana State	11	–	3	.786	16	–	11	.593
Idaho State	6	–	8	.429	12	–	14	.462
Nevada	5	–	9	.357	11	–	15	.423
Weber State	5	–	9	.357	8	–	19	.296
Boise State	4	–	10	.286	7	–	19	.269
Northern Arizona	2	–	12	.143	8	–	17	.320

† Big Sky Conference tournament winner

The 1980–81 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Don Monson and played their home games on campus at the Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho.

Idaho won its first eleven games (including road wins at Nebraska, Washington State, and Gonzaga), went 23–3 in the regular season, and won the Big Sky Conference regular season championship, their first conference title in 58 years.

The Vandals' 12–2 conference record earned them the host position for the conference tournament (top four teams of the eight), which they won. Seeded seventh in the West region of the 48-team NCAA tournament, they traveled to El Paso, Texas. In the first round, Idaho lost by one point in overtime to Pittsburgh; they ended at 25–4 (.862), with most of the key players returning.

Polls

Idaho was ranked for the first time in school history in February, for three weeks in the UPI coaches poll. Curiously, they entered its top twenty after a road loss, rose to 16th, then exited after completing the regular season with a nine-point road win. The Vandals received votes, but did not appear, in the AP writers poll (top twenty) until January 1982; they were ranked sixth in both polls at end of that regular season, and eighth in both final polls.

Attendance

Prior to this season, the school attendance record for basketball was 6,449, set five years earlier at the Kibbie Dome's inaugural hoop game in January 1976 against Palouse neighbor Washington State. That was surpassed in 1981 with 6,800 for the conference opener with Weber State on Thursday, January 8.

The final two home regular season games both saw new records, as title-contending Montana State and Montana visited: 7,100 on Thursday, February 19, which was shattered with 9,000 two days later for Idaho's nineteenth consecutive home court win. (Two years later, the record increased to 11,800.)

All-conference

Sophomore guard Brian Kellerman was the Big Sky's player of the year and a first team all-conference selection. Vandals on the second team were sophomore forward Phil Hopson, senior center Ron Maben, and junior point guard Ken Owens, the MVP of the conference tournament.

Notes

Center Jeff Brudie earned a degree in civil engineering, graduated from the UI law school, and is a district judge in Lewiston.

Roster

1980–81 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	4	Mike Maben	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Milwaukee Tech HS	Milwaukee, WI
C	11	Jeff Brudie	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	—	Sr	Bonneville HS	Idaho Falls, Idaho
G	12	Brian Kellerman	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Richland HS	Richland, WA
G	14	Ken Owens	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Treasure Valley (OR)	New York, NY
F	20	Gordon Herbert	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	N.Idaho, Penticton HS	Penticton, BC
G	22	Al Williams	—	—		North Idaho	Chicago, IL
F	24	Pete Prigge	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Fort Vancouver HS	Vancouver, WA
F	30	Zane Frazier	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Fairfax HS	Los Angeles, CA
F	31	Dan Forge	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Sr	Lewiston HS	Lewiston, ID
G	32	Ben Ross	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Coeur d'Alene HS	Coeur d'Alene, ID
C	35	Mike Dow	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	—	Sr
G	42	Freeman Watkins	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	Fr	Eisenhower HS	Utica, MI
F	44	Phil Hopson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Jefferson HS	Portland, OR
C	52	Ron Maben	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Sr	Spokane CC, West Division HS	Milwaukee, WI

Head coach

Don Monson (Idaho)

Assistant coach(es)

Barry Collier (Butler)
Rod Snook (Whittier)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Source:

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Fri, Nov 14* 8:00 pm		Athletes in Action (Canada) (Exhibition)	W 65–63	—	Memorial Gymnasium (2,500) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Nov 29* 6 pm		at Nebraska	W 64–53	1–0	Bob Devaney Center (7,750) Lincoln, Nebraska
Mon, Dec 1* 7:30 pm		vs. Washington State Battle of the Palouse	W 65–51	2–0	Spokane Coliseum (3,186) Spokane, Washington
Fri, Dec 5* 8:00 pm		Simon Fraser (BC)	W 79–69	3–0	Kibbie Dome (3,200) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Dec 6* 7:30 pm		at Gonzaga Rivalry	W 73–69	4–0	Kennedy Pavilion (4,242) Spokane, Washington
Mon, Dec 8* 8:00 pm		U.S. International (CA)	W 78–56	5–0	Kibbie Dome (3,000) Moscow, Idaho
Thu, Dec 11* 8:00 pm		San Jose State	W 69–55	6–0	Kibbie Dome (4,200) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Dec 13* 8:00 pm		St. Martin's (WA)	W 90–46	7–0	Kibbie Dome (4,200) Moscow, Idaho
Thu, Dec 18* 8:00 pm		Wisconsin–Oshkosh	W 113–67	8–0	Kibbie Dome (3,700) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Dec 20* 8:00 pm		Northwest Nazarene (ID)	W 94–55	9–0	Kibbie Dome (2,750) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Dec 27* 7:00 pm		vs. Oklahoma City All-College tournament	W 74–61	10–0	Myriad Center (2,857) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Mon, Dec 29* 7:00 pm		vs. Long Island All-College Tournament	W 90–68	11–0	Myriad Center (4,009) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Tue, Dec 30* 7:00 pm		vs. Oklahoma State All-College Tournament (final)	L 83–94	11–1	Myriad Center (8,012) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Thu, Jan 8 8:00 pm		Weber State	W 57–46	12–1 (1–0)	Kibbie Dome (6,800) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Jan 10 8:00 pm		Idaho State	W 75–60	13–1 (2–0)	Kibbie Dome (5,200) Moscow, Idaho
Thu, Jan 15 8:00 pm		at Nevada-Reno	W 63–59	14–1 (3–0)	Centennial Coliseum (3,997) Reno, Nevada
Sat, Jan 17 6:30 pm		at Boise State	W 57–45	15–1 (4–0)	Bronco Gymnasium (3,682) Boise, Idaho
Fri, Jan 23 7:00 pm		at Montana	W 47–44	16–1 (5–0)	Dahlberg Arena (9,323) Missoula, Montana
Sat, Jan 24 7:00 pm		at Montana State	L 59–68	16–2 (5–1)	Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (6,467) Bozeman, Montana
Thu, Jan 29 8:00 pm		Nevada-Reno	W 81–76	17–2 (6–1)	Kibbie Dome (6,000) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Jan 31 8:00 pm		Northern Arizona	W 72–61	18–2 (7–1)	Kibbie Dome (6,400) Moscow, Idaho
Fri, Feb 6 7:00 pm		at Idaho State	W 59–58	19–2 (8–1)	ISU Minidome (7,500) Pocatello, Idaho
Sat, Feb 7 6:30 pm		at Weber State	L 49–53	19–3 (8–2)	Dee Events Center (6,374) Ogden, Utah
Sat, Feb 14 8:00 pm	No. 20	Boise State	W 70–64	20–3 (9–2)	Kibbie Dome (5,900) Moscow, Idaho
Thu, Feb 19 8:00 pm	No. 16	Montana State	W 73–55	21–3 (10–2)	Kibbie Dome (7,100) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Feb 21 8:00 pm	No. 16	Montana	W 87–78	22–3 (11–2)	Kibbie Dome (9,000) Moscow, Idaho
Thu, Feb 26 6:30 pm	No. 17	at Northern Arizona	W 74–65	23–3 (12–2)	Walkup Skydome (3,465) Flagstaff, Arizona
Big Sky tournament
Fri, Mar 6 7:00 pm	(1)	(4) Idaho State Semifinal	W 69–45	24–3	Kibbie Dome (8,250) Moscow, Idaho
Sat, Mar 7 7:30 pm	(1)	(2) Montana Final	W 70–54	25–3	Kibbie Dome (8,300) Moscow, Idaho
NCAA Tournament
Fri, Mar 13* 6:00 pm	(7W)	vs. (10W) Pittsburgh First round	L 69–70	25–4	Special Events Center (7,109) El Paso, Texas
*Non-conference game. Rankings from UPI coaches poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time.

References

^ "Basketball: Vandals open season with 11 wins". Gem of the Mountains, University of Idaho yearbook. 1981. p. 80.
Sahlberg, Bert (March 10, 1981). "Vandals win it all over stubborn Grizzlies". Idaho Argonaut. Moscow. (University of Idaho). p. 9.
Missildine, Harry (March 9, 1981). "NCAA: Idaho draws Pitt". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 15.
Missildine, Harry (March 13, 1981). "Idaho vs. Pitt: a guessing game". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 35.
Missildine, Harry (March 14, 1981). "Vandals victimized in overtime". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 17.
"'Prayer shot' ends Vandal NCAA dreams". Idaho Argonaut. Moscow. (University of Idaho). March 24, 1981. p. 6.
Emerson, Paul (October 16, 1981). "Vandal cage hopes depend on filling center spot". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 4B.
"Idaho is ranked in coaches' poll". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. February 10, 1981. p. 17.
"Idaho ranked No. 16". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). February 17, 1981. p. 13.
Missildine, Harry (February 18, 1981). "Adaptability is the word for the five-phase Vandals". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
"OSU nearly unanimous". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon)). UPI. March 3, 1981. p. 14.
Missildine, Harry (March 3, 1981). "Ticket-seeking friends feel pinch of Monson's success". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 17.
"Vandals No. 6". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. wire services. March 2, 1982. p. 13.
Emerson, Paul (January 22, 1976). "Crowd of 6,449 sees Cougar romp in dome". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
Missildine, Harry (January 9, 1981). "Vandals pass first Sky test". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 25.
Emerson, Paul (January 9, 1981). "Good enough". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
Missildine, Harry (February 20, 1981). "Idaho 'Vandalizes' Bobcats". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 23.
Emerson, Paul (February 20, 1981). "Vandals riding sky high after ripping Bobcats". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
Emerson, Paul (February 22, 1981). "Vandals keep winning". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 3C.
Van Sickel, Charlie (February 23, 1981). "Victorious Vandals still need final win". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 19.
Killen, John (February 13, 1983). "SNAP! Montana breaks it all to stop Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
"Guards head league's list". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 12, 1981. p. 22.
"Briefs: Kellerman honored". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 12, 1981. p. 52.
"Harper is all-Big Sky". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. March 12, 1981. p. D6.
"Vandals return nine vets". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 25, 1980. p. 12.

External links

Sports Reference – Idaho Vandals: 1980–81 basketball season
Gem of the Mountains: 1981 University of Idaho yearbook – 1980–81 basketball season
Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1981 editions
Team photo – 1980–81 Idaho Vandals

v t e Idaho Vandals men's basketball
Venues	Armory and Gymnasium (1905–1928) Memorial Gymnasium (1928–1976, 2020–21) Kibbie Dome / Cowan Spectrum (1976–2021) Idaho Central Credit Union Arena (2021–present)
Rivalries	Washington State
Culture & lore	Go, Vandals, Go
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 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 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 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

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