Misplaced Pages

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)	Ralph Sampson, Virginia (Naismith) Danny Ainge, BYU (Wooden)
Player of the Year (Helms)	Mark Aguirre, DePaul
← 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 Division I men's 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.
• 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

• The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference played its first season as a Division I conference.
• At 7:06 p.m. on November 29, 1980, Ronnie Carr of Western Carolina scored a 23-foot (7 m) field goal against Middle Tennessee State. Not counting shots made during a February 1945 game between Columbia and Fordham that experimented with the three-point field goal, Carr became the first player to score on a three-point shot. The three-pointer was used as an experiment by several conferences until the rule was adopted nationally for the 1986-87 season.
• 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, Pennsylvania. The win marked Hoosiers had coach Bob Knight's second championship and marked North Carolina head coach Dean Smith's sixth trip to the Final Four without a championship. A dominant second half by sophomore Isiah Thomas led Indiana to the championship.
• The possibility of postponing or cancellng the March 30 NCAA championship game arose after an assassination attempt in which John Hinckley, Jr., shot President Ronald Reagan that day in Washington, D.C. Once it was confirmed that Reagan would survive, the game was played as scheduled.
• The NCAA used the Rating Percentage Index (RPI), a computer ranking system, for the first time as an aid in evaluating teams for at-large selections and seeding in the NCAA tournament.
• Two No. 1 seeds (LSU and Virginia) advanced to the NCAA tournament Final Four for the first time.
• The NCAA tournament included a national third-place game — pitting the two teams that lost in the semifinals against one another — for the last time. The NCAA tournament had included a national third-place game since 1946.
• For the last time, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) included a third-place game between the two teams that lost in the semifinals. The tournament had included a third-place game since the first NIT in 1938.
• The NCAA Final Four was held in Philadelphia and the Final Four logo included a depiction of the Liberty Bell. It was the first time that a Final Four logo incorporated an image specific to the Final Four venue.
• Oregon State senior Steve Johnson set an NCAA record for season field goal percentage with a .746 mark. Johnson graduated with the NCAA career field goal percentage record (.678)
• 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 1981 National Invitation Tournament. 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.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 20 from the AP and UPI polls during the pre-season.

Conference membership changes

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Note: From 1975 to 1981, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States, 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 Division I men's basketball tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did. The ECAC North was a separate, conventional conference.

Conference standings

Division I independents

A total of 46 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, DePaul (27–2) had both the best winning percentage (.931) and the most wins.

Informal championships

All five teams finished with a 2–2 record in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.

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

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 Finals

Played at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Awards

Consensus All-American teams

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

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.

References

1. "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 13. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
2. "And A Little Child Led Them". Sports Illustrated. April 6, 1981. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
3. What a night to be in Bloomington
4. ^ "Playing Rules History" (PDF). ncaa.org. NCAA. p. 12. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
5. "2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). (p. 22). NCAA. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
6. "This Court Transplant Took". Sports Illustrated. March 1, 1982. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
7. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
8. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section" (PDF). NCAA. 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
9. 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 2010-08-06
10. 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
11. 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
12. Men's Basketball Award Winners, Big Sky Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
13. 2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Awards section Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Atlantic 10 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
14. America East Men's Basketball Players of the Year, America East Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
15. Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers Archived 2008-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Ivy League, retrieved 2010-08-06
16. 2008–09 MAC Men's BAsketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
17. 2008–09 MEAC men's basketball media guide Archived 2012-09-22 at the Wayback Machine, MEAC, retrieved 2010-08-06
18. 2008–09 Horizon League Men's Basketball Record Book Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Horizon League, retrieved 2010-08-06
19. 2008–09 MVC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Missouri Valley Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
20. 2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide, Ohio Valley Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
21. 2008–09 Pacific-10 Men's Basketball Media Guide- Honors Section Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, Pacific-10 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
22. 2008–09 Big West Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, Big West Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
23. "Macklin Named SEC Top Player". The State. Columbia, South Carolina. March 4, 1981. p. 45. Retrieved February 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
24. "Macklin named SEC Player of Year". The State Journal. Frankfort, Kentucky. March 5, 1981. p. 11. Retrieved February 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
25. 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
26. 2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
27. "GSU cagers land on all-SWAC team". The Shreveport Times. March 5, 1981. p. 31. Retrieved August 14, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
28. "GSU honors Williams, Jackson". The Shreveport Times. April 23, 1981. p. 33. Retrieved August 14, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
29. 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
30. Atlantic Sun men's basketball record book, Atlantic Sun Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
31. 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine, West Coast Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
32. 2009–10 WAC Men's Basketball Media Guide Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine, Western Athletic Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06
33. Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
34. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Big East Conference Season Summary
35. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
36. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Ivy Group Season Summary
37. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary
38. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
39. "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
40. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
41. "Men's Basketball 2018-19" (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 105. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
42. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
43. "1980-81 Men's Independent Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2024.

• 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
• 1980–81 in American college basketball