🏀 The 1980-81 men’s college basketball season

What the record holds for this season: the champion, the tournament bracket, the AP poll week by week, the conference tables, and the Elo ratings with the biggest upsets.

Source: Citizen of Nowhere college basketball database · 29 conferences · 48-team tournament

← 1980 1982 →All seasons

Jump to any season1896–2027

2020s

2027livein progress 2026Michigan 2025Florida 2024Connecticut 2023Connecticut 2022Kansas 2021Baylor 2020cancelled

2010s

2019Virginia 2018Villanova 2017North Carolina 2016Villanova 2015Duke 2014Connecticut 2013Louisville 2012Kentucky 2011Connecticut 2010Duke

2000s

2009North Carolina 2008Kansas 2007Florida 2006Florida 2005North Carolina 2004Connecticut 2003Syracuse 2002Maryland 2001Duke 2000Michigan State

1990s

1999Connecticut 1998Kentucky 1997Arizona 1996Kentucky 1995UCLA 1994Arkansas 1993North Carolina 1992Duke 1991Duke 1990UNLV

1980s

1989Michigan 1988Kansas 1987Indiana 1986Louisville 1985Villanova 1984Georgetown 1983North Carolina State 1982North Carolina 1981Indiana 1980Louisville

1970s

1979Michigan State 1978Kentucky 1977Marquette 1976Indiana 1975UCLA 1974North Carolina State 1973UCLA 1972UCLA 1971UCLA 1970UCLA

1960s

1969UCLA 1968UCLA 1967UCLA 1966Texas Western 1965UCLA 1964UCLA 1963Loyola-Chicago 1962Cincinnati 1961Cincinnati 1960Ohio State

1950s

1959California 1958Kentucky 1957North Carolina 1956San Francisco 1955San Francisco 1954La Salle 1953Indiana 1952Kansas 1951Kentucky 1950CCNY

1940s

1949Kentucky 1948Kentucky 1947Holy Cross 1946Oklahoma A&M 1945Oklahoma A&M 1944Utah 1943Wyoming 1942Stanford 1941Wisconsin 1940Indiana

1930s

1939Oregon 1938Temple 1937Stanford 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932Purdue 1931Northwestern 1930

1920s

1929Montana State 1928Pittsburgh 1927 1926Syracuse 1925Princeton 1924North Carolina 1923 1922 1921 1920Pennsylvania

1910s

1919 1918Syracuse 1917Washington State 1916Wisconsin 1915Illinois 1914Wisconsin 1913Navy 1912Wisconsin 1911St. John's 1910

1900s

1909Chicago 1908 1907 1906 1905Columbia 1904Columbia 1903 1902Minnesota 1901 1900

1890s

1899 1898 1897 1896

1981season

← 1980 1982 →

1980-81 national champion

The NCAA tournament winner.

National champion

Indiana

26-93 seedFinal AP #9

Title gameNorth Carolina 50, Indiana 63 (Mar 30)

Final FourIndianaNorth CarolinaLSUVirginia

The 1981 NCAA tournament

48 teams. Winners in bold, seeds before each team.

48-team field · 4 regions

First Round

8Lamar71

9Missouri67

5Arkansas73

12Mercer67

6Wichita State95

11Southern70

7Kansas69

10Mississippi66

Second Round

1LSU100

8Lamar78

4Louisville73

5Arkansas74

3Iowa56

6Wichita State60

2Arizona State71

7Kansas88

Regional Semifinals

1LSU72

5Arkansas56

6Wichita State66

7Kansas65

Regional Finals

1LSU96

6Wichita State85

Midwest region

First Round

8Lamar71

9Missouri67

5Arkansas73

12Mercer67

6Wichita State95

11Southern70

7Kansas69

10Mississippi66

Second Round

1LSU100

8Lamar78

4Louisville73

5Arkansas74

3Iowa56

6Wichita State60

2Arizona State71

7Kansas88

Regional Semifinals

1LSU72

5Arkansas56

6Wichita State66

7Kansas65

Regional Finals

1LSU96

6Wichita State85

Mideast region

First Round

6Maryland81

11UT-Chattanooga69

7UAB93

10Western Kentucky68

5Boston College93

12Ball State90

8Creighton57

9St. Joseph's59

Second Round

3Indiana99

6Maryland64

2Kentucky62

7UAB69

4Wake Forest64

5Boston College67

1DePaul48

9St. Joseph's49

Regional Semifinals

3Indiana87

7UAB72

5Boston College41

9St. Joseph's42

Regional Finals

3Indiana78

9St. Joseph's46

East region

First Round

8Houston72

9Villanova90

5Virginia Commonwealth85

12LIU-Brooklyn69

7Georgetown55

10James Madison61

6BYU60

11Princeton51

Second Round

1Virginia54

9Villanova50

4Tennessee58

5Virginia Commonwealth56

2Notre Dame54

10James Madison45

3UCLA55

6BYU78

Regional Semifinals

1Virginia62

4Tennessee48

2Notre Dame50

6BYU51

Regional Finals

1Virginia74

6BYU60

West region

First Round

7Idaho69

10Pittsburgh70

6Fresno State53

11Northeastern55

5Wyoming78

12Howard43

8Kansas State64

9San Francisco60

Second Round

2North Carolina74

10Pittsburgh57

3Utah94

11Northeastern69

4Illinois67

5Wyoming65

1Oregon State48

8Kansas State50

Regional Semifinals

2North Carolina61

3Utah56

4Illinois52

8Kansas State57

Regional Finals

2North Carolina82

8Kansas State68

Final Four and the title game

Final Four

1LSU49

3Indiana67

Midwest vs Mideast · Mar 28

1Virginia65

2North Carolina78

East vs West · Mar 28

Championship game: Indiana

2North Carolina50

3Indiana63

West vs Mideast · Mar 30

Third-place games

1LSU74

1Virginia78

Third Place Game · Midwest vs East · Mar 30

Conference tournaments

The champion and the other finalist of each of the 22 conference tournaments held in 1980-81.

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Final
Atlantic Coast	North Carolina 61-60, Mar 7	Maryland	61-60, Mar 7
Big East	Syracuse 83-80, Mar 7	Villanova	83-80, Mar 7
Big Eight	Kansas 80-68, Mar 5	Kansas State	80-68, Mar 5
Big Sky	Idaho 70-64, Mar 8	Montana	70-64, Mar 8
ECAC North	Northeastern 81-79, Mar 7	Holy Cross	81-79, Mar 7
East Coast	St. Joseph's 63-60, Mar 8	American	63-60, Mar 8
Eastern 8	Pittsburgh 64-60, Mar 7	Duquesne	64-60, Mar 7
Ivy	Princeton 54-40, Mar 10	Pennsylvania	54-40, Mar 10
Metro	Louisville 42-31, Mar 8	Cincinnati	42-31, Mar 8
Mid-American	Ball State 79-66, Mar 5	Northern Illinois	79-66, Mar 5
Mid-Eastern	Howard 66-63, Mar 7	North Carolina A&T	66-63, Mar 7
Midwestern City	Oklahoma City 82-76, Mar 5	Xavier	82-76, Mar 5
Missouri Valley	Creighton 70-64, Mar 7	Wichita State	70-64, Mar 7
Ohio Valley	Western Kentucky 81-67, Mar 6	Murray State	81-67, Mar 6
Pacific Coast	Fresno State	San Jose State
Southeastern	Mississippi 66-62, Mar 7	Georgia	66-62, Mar 7
Southern	UT-Chattanooga 59-55, Mar 7	Appalachian State	59-55, Mar 7
Southland	Lamar 83-69, Mar 5	Louisiana Tech	83-69, Mar 5
Southwest	Houston 84-59, Mar 7	Texas	84-59, Mar 7
Southwestern Athletic	Southern 69-63, Mar 8	Jackson State	69-63, Mar 8
Sun Belt	Virginia Commonwealth 62-61, Mar 1	UAB	62-61, Mar 1
Trans America	Mercer 72-67, Mar 8	Houston Baptist	72-67, Mar 8

The 1980-81 AP poll, week by week

Each team's rank in every poll. Tap a rank to read it.

Team	Nov25	Dec2	9	16	23	30	Jan6	13	20	27	Feb3	10	17	24	Mar3	10
DePaul	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	4	3	3	3	3	3	4	2	1
Oregon State	7	6	5	4	4	2	2	1	1	1	2	2	2	1	1	2
Arizona State			15	14	11	13	14	12	7	5	5	5	7	5	5	3
LSU	12	15	11	10	10	10	9	6	5	4	4	4	4	2	3	4
Virginia	8	7	6	5	5	3	3	2	2	1	1	1	1	3	4	5
North Carolina	13	10	10	8	6	6	16	17	17	12	11	10	13	11	12	6
Notre Dame	10	13	9	6	8	4	5	7	13	8	9	12	11	6	6	7
Kentucky	1	2	2	2	2	5	4	3	6	7	6	11	10	9	7	8
Indiana	5	5	7	11	15	15					17	20	16	16	14	9
UCLA	6	3	3	3	3	7	7	8	12	10	12	8	6	13	13	10
Wake Forest			13	12	7	8	6	5	3	6	8	7	5	12	11	11
Louisville	3	8		20										20	17	12
Iowa	14	12	16	16	14	14	11	14	9	13	15	14	12	8	8	13
Utah					19	20	18	16	14	9	7	6	9	7	9	14
Tennessee						18	13	11	8	11	10	9	8	10	10	15
BYU	18	19	19	18	20	19	17	15	18	15	16	15	17	15	18	16
Wyoming															19	17
Maryland	4	4	4	9	9	9	8	10	10	14	13	19	20	17	20	18
Illinois				17	18	16	12	18	15		18	17	15	14	16	19
Arkansas	20	11	17	19	17									18	15	20
Wichita State											19	16	14	19
Michigan			18	15	13	12	10	9	16	17	14	13	18
Lamar													19
South Alabama					16	17	15	13	11	16	20	18
Kansas										18
Minnesota							19	20		19
Connecticut									20	20
Clemson							20	19	19
Texas A&M	15	14	12	13	12	11
Ohio State	9	9	8	7
Missouri	11	17	14
Syracuse	19	18	20
St. John's	17	16
Georgetown	16	19

Tap a rank to read it.

1981 final AP Top 20

The last Associated Press ranking of the season, with each team's record.

1981 final AP Top 20AP

1DePaul27-2
2Oregon State26-2
3Arizona State24-4
4LSU31-5
5Virginia29-4
6North Carolina29-8
7Notre Dame23-6
8Kentucky22-6
9Indiana26-9
10UCLA20-7

11Wake Forest22-7
12Louisville21-9
13Iowa21-7
14Utah25-5
15Tennessee21-8
16BYU25-7
17Wyoming24-6
18Maryland21-10
19Illinois21-8
20Arkansas24-8

1981 standings by conference

Overall and conference record. A star marks the regular-season champion, a trophy the conference-tournament champion.

1981 standings by conference29 conferences

Atlantic Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Virginia	29-4	13-1	★ 1 seed AP 5
North Carolina	29-8	10-4	🏆 2 seed AP 6
Wake Forest	22-7	9-5	4 seed AP 11
Maryland	21-10	8-6	6 seed AP 18
Clemson	20-11	6-8
Duke	17-13	6-8
North Carolina State	14-13	4-10
Georgia Tech	4-23	0-14

Big East8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Boston College	23-7	10-4	★ 5 seed
Georgetown	20-12	9-5	7 seed
Connecticut	20-9	8-6
Villanova	20-11	8-6	9 seed
St. John's	17-11	8-6
Syracuse	22-12	6-8	🏆
Seton Hall	11-16	4-10
Providence	10-18	3-11

Big Eight8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Missouri	22-10	10-4	★ 9 seed
Kansas	24-8	9-5	🏆 7 seed
Kansas State	24-9	9-5	8 seed
Nebraska	15-12	9-5
Oklahoma State	18-9	8-6
Colorado	16-12	5-9
Oklahoma	9-18	4-10
Iowa State	9-18	2-12

Big Sky8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Idaho	25-4	12-2	★ 🏆 7 seed
Montana	19-9	11-3
Montana State	16-11	11-3
Idaho State	12-14	6-8
Nevada	11-15	5-9
Weber State	8-19	5-9
Boise State	7-19	4-10
Northern Arizona	8-17	2-12

Big Ten10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Indiana	26-9	14-4	★ 3 seed AP 9
Iowa	21-7	13-5	3 seed AP 13
Illinois	21-8	12-6	4 seed AP 19
Purdue	21-11	10-8
Minnesota	19-11	9-9
Ohio State	14-13	9-9
Michigan	19-11	8-10
Michigan State	13-14	7-11
Wisconsin	11-16	5-13
Northwestern	9-18	3-15

East Coast12 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
American	24-6	11-0	★
St. Joseph's	25-8	9-2	🏆 9 seed
Temple	20-8	9-2
La Salle	14-13	8-3
Drexel	14-13	6-5
Lafayette	15-13	8-8	★
Rider	14-14	8-8	★
Hofstra	12-15	5-6
Lehigh	14-12	6-10
Bucknell	12-16	6-10
Delaware	6-19	3-13
West Chester	7-20	2-14

Eastern 88 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Rhode Island	21-8	10-3	★
Duquesne	20-10	10-3	★
West Virginia	23-10	9-4
Pittsburgh	19-12	8-5	🏆 10 seed
Rutgers	16-14	7-6
St. Bonaventure	14-13	6-7
George Washington	8-19	4-9
Massachusetts	3-24	0-13

ECAC Metro11 teams

School	W-L	Note
Fordham	19-9
St. Peter's	17-9
Siena	17-10
LIU-Brooklyn	18-11	NCAA
Wagner	16-11
Iona	15-14
Fairfield	13-13
Fairleigh Dickinson	12-14
St. Francis (NY)	10-16
Army	7-19
Manhattan	6-20

ECAC North9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Northeastern	24-6	21-5	★ 🏆 11 seed
Holy Cross	20-10	18-8
Vermont	16-12	15-11
Maine	14-14	13-13
Boston University	13-14	13-13
Canisius	11-15	11-15
Niagara	11-15	11-15
Colgate	11-18	11-17
New Hampshire	7-19	7-19

ECAC South11 teams

School	W-L	Note
James Madison	21-9	NCAA
Old Dominion	18-10
St. Francis (PA)	17-10
William & Mary	16-12
Richmond	15-14
Towson	13-14
George Mason	10-16
Navy	9-16
Robert Morris	9-18
Baltimore	5-21
Catholic	4-20

Ivy8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Pennsylvania	20-8	13-1	★
Princeton	18-10	13-1	★ 🏆 11 seed
Harvard	16-10	9-5
Brown	9-17	5-9
Columbia	9-17	5-9
Cornell	7-19	4-10
Yale	7-19	4-10
Dartmouth	10-16	3-11

Metro7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Louisville	21-9	11-1	★ 🏆 4 seed AP 12
Florida State	17-11	7-5
Cincinnati	16-13	6-6
Virginia Tech	15-13	6-6
Memphis State	13-14	5-7
Tulane	12-15	4-8
Saint Louis	9-18	3-9

Mid-American10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Toledo	21-10	10-6	★
Ball State	20-10	10-6	★ 🏆 12 seed
Northern Illinois	17-12	10-6	★
Bowling Green	15-12	10-6	★
Western Michigan	15-13	10-6	★
Eastern Michigan	13-14	8-8
Miami (OH)	11-15	6-10
Ohio	7-20	6-10
Central Michigan	12-14	5-11
Kent State	7-19	5-11

Mid-Eastern6 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
North Carolina A&T	21-8	7-3	★
Florida A&M	17-11	6-4
Howard	17-12	6-4	🏆 12 seed
Bethune-Cookman	13-15	4-6
South Carolina State	11-15	4-6
Delaware State	8-18	3-7

Midwestern City7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Xavier	12-16	8-3	★
Oklahoma City	14-15	7-4	🏆
Loyola-Chicago	13-15	7-4
Evansville	19-9	6-5
Oral Roberts	11-16	6-5
Detroit	9-18	1-5
Butler	5-22	1-10

Missouri Valley9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Wichita State	26-7	12-4	★ 6 seed
Tulsa	26-7	11-5
Creighton	21-9	11-5	🏆 8 seed
Bradley	18-9	10-6
Drake	18-11	10-6
West Texas State	16-11	7-9
New Mexico State	10-17	7-9
Indiana State	9-18	4-12
Southern Illinois	7-20	0-16

Ohio Valley8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Western Kentucky	21-8	12-2	★ 🏆 10 seed
Murray State	17-10	10-4
Middle Tennessee State	18-9	9-5
Austin Peay	14-13	7-7
Eastern Kentucky	10-16	7-7
Akron	8-18	5-9
Morehead State	11-15	4-10
Tennessee Tech	6-20	2-12

Pacific Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Fresno State	25-4	12-2	★ 🏆 6 seed
San Jose State	21-9	10-4
UC Irvine	17-10	9-5
Long Beach State	15-13	9-5
Utah State	12-16	5-9
UC Santa Barbara	11-16	5-9
Pacific	14-13	4-10
CSU-Fullerton	4-23	2-12

Pacific-1010 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Oregon State	26-2	17-1	★ 1 seed AP 2
Arizona State	24-4	16-2	2 seed AP 3
UCLA	20-7	13-5	3 seed AP 10
USC	14-13	9-9
Washington	14-13	8-10
Arizona	13-14	8-10
Oregon	13-14	6-12
California	13-14	5-13
Stanford	9-18	5-13
Washington State	10-17	3-15

Southeastern10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
LSU	31-5	17-1	★ 1 seed AP 4
Kentucky	22-6	15-3	2 seed AP 8
Tennessee	21-8	12-6	4 seed AP 15
Alabama	18-11	10-8
Georgia	19-12	9-9
Mississippi	16-14	8-10	🏆 10 seed
Vanderbilt	15-14	7-11
Florida	12-16	5-13
Auburn	11-16	4-14
Mississippi State	8-19	3-15

Southern9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
UT-Chattanooga	21-9	11-5	★ 🏆 11 seed
Appalachian State	20-9	11-5	★
Davidson	13-14	11-5	★
Western Carolina	18-10	9-7
East Tennessee State	13-14	9-7
Marshall	18-10	8-8
Furman	11-16	8-8
VMI	4-23	3-13
Citadel	9-17	2-14

Southland6 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Lamar	25-5	8-2	★ 🏆 8 seed
Texas-Arlington	20-8	7-3
Louisiana Tech	20-10	7-3
SW Louisiana	15-13	6-4
Arkansas State	12-15	2-8
McNeese State	11-21	0-10

Southwest9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Arkansas	24-8	13-3	★ 5 seed AP 20
Houston	21-9	10-6	🏆 8 seed
Baylor	15-12	10-6
Texas A&M	15-12	8-8
Texas Tech	15-13	8-8
Texas	15-15	7-9
Rice	12-15	7-9
TCU	11-18	6-10
SMU	7-20	3-13

Southwestern Athletic7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Southern	17-11	8-4	★ 🏆 11 seed
Alcorn State	17-12	8-4	★
Grambling	18-11	7-5
Jackson State	16-13	7-5
Texas Southern	13-13	7-5
Mississippi Valley State	11-16	4-8
Prairie View	2-23	1-11

Sun Belt7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Virginia Commonwealth	24-5	9-3	★ 🏆 5 seed
South Alabama	25-6	9-3	★
UAB	23-9	9-3	★ 7 seed
South Florida	18-11	7-5
Jacksonville	8-19	4-8
UNC Charlotte	10-17	3-9
Georgia State	4-23	1-11

Trans America9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Houston Baptist	18-10	9-3	★
Northeast Louisiana	15-13	8-4
Mercer	18-12	7-4	🏆 12 seed
Centenary	16-12	7-5
Arkansas-Little Rock	13-13	5-6
Samford	10-17	5-6
Northwestern State	11-17	5-7
Hardin-Simmons	9-18	4-8
Georgia Southern	5-22	2-9

West Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
San Francisco	24-7	11-3	★ 9 seed
Pepperdine	16-12	11-3	★
Gonzaga	19-8	9-5
Portland	17-10	7-7
Santa Clara	14-13	7-7
Loyola Marymount	9-19	5-9
San Diego	10-16	3-11
St. Mary's	9-18	3-11

Western Athletic9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Utah	25-5	13-3	★ 3 seed AP 14
Wyoming	24-6	13-3	★ 5 seed AP 17
BYU	25-7	12-4	6 seed AP 16
UTEP	18-12	9-7
San Diego State	15-12	8-8
Hawaii	14-13	7-9
New Mexico	11-15	6-10
Air Force	9-18	3-13
Colorado State	3-24	1-15

Independent24 teams

School	W-L	Note
DePaul	27-2	1 seed AP 1
Notre Dame	23-6	2 seed AP 7
Southern Mississippi	20-7
Cleveland State	18-9
Stetson	18-9
Tennessee State	17-9
Marquette	20-11
Penn State	17-10
South Carolina	17-10
Dayton	18-11
Texas-Pan American	18-11
Illinois State	16-11
UNLV	16-12
North Texas	15-12
SE Louisiana	14-13
NC-Wilmington	13-13
New Orleans	13-14
East Carolina	12-14
Valparaiso	12-15
Campbell	11-16
Charleston Southern	8-19
Northern Iowa	8-19
Portland State	7-20
Nicholls State	6-22

Elo ratings and upsets use the games in our record for this season, which is incomplete before 1995-96; team records come from the season standings.

1981 Elo and upsets

The ten highest-rated teams when the season ended, and the results the ratings gave the winner the least chance of.

1981 Elo and upsetsElo

Elo, top 10

1Indiana2145
2North Carolina2077
3Virginia2048
4LSU1979
5Oregon State1976
6DePaul1974
7Arizona State1958
8Wake Forest1945
9Maryland1943
10Illinois1923

Biggest upsets

New Orleans 82, Southern Mississippi 79
Feb 9 · regular season · 5.0% win chance
TCU 56, Texas A&M 51
Jan 3 · regular season · 5.4% win chance
Princeton 47, St. John's 46
Dec 6 · regular season · 5.4% win chance
Old Dominion 63, DePaul 62
Jan 10 · regular season · 5.4% win chance
Charleston Southern 74, Georgia Tech 51
Feb 14 · regular season · 5.8% win chance
McNeese State 79, Texas-Arlington 74
Mar 3 · conference tournament · 6.6% win chance
Stanford 74, UCLA 72
Feb 21 · regular season · 7.2% win chance
USC 68, UCLA 66
Jan 10 · regular season · 7.3% win chance
Northwestern 74, Michigan 70
Feb 21 · regular season · 7.5% win chance
Providence 61, Georgetown 58
Jan 19 · regular season · 7.6% win chance

Where these numbers come from

Enough to disbelieve this page on purpose rather than by accident.

Champions, brackets, polls and standings are read from the Citizen of Nowhere college basketball database, one season at a time. A section appears only where the database holds its data: the NCAA tournament began in 1939 (earlier champions are retroactive selections), the AP poll in 1949, and game-by-game results, and so the Elo ratings and upsets, in 1950.

Elo ratings and upsets come from the site’s own men’s college basketball Elo, built from every game since 1950. An upset’s win chance is the winner’s pre-game probability from those ratings.