| Hc Year: | 5th |
| Mode: | Basketball |
| Year: | 1980–81 |
| Team: | Michigan State Spartans |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Captain: | Mike Brkovich |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Record: | 13–14 |
| Conf Record: | 7–11 |
| Asst Coach1: | Dave Harshman |
| Asst Coach2: | Edgar Wilson |
| Asst Coach3: | John Holms |
The 1980–81 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Jud Heathcote in his fifth year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished with a record of 13–14, 7–11 to finish in eighth place in Big Ten play.
The Spartans finished the 1979–80 season 12–15, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place in conference.
| - | 1980–81 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Name | Pos | Year | Height | Pts | Reb | Ast |
| 5 | Kevin Smith | G | JR | 6–2 | 13.5 | 2.3 | 4.8 |
| 10 | Tim Gore | G | FR | 6–4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| 12 | Mike Brkovich | G | SR | 6–5 | 8.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| 15 | Bob Fossum | G | FR | 5–9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 20 | Ben Tower | F | FR | 6–8 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 0.7 |
| 22 | Bill Cawood | G | SO | 6–7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| 23 | Randy Morrison | G | FR | 6–2 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| 24 | Richard Mudd | F | FR | 6–9 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| 30 | Kurt James | F | SR | 6–7 | |||
| 31 | Jay Vincent | F/C | SR | 6–8 | 22.6 | 8.5 | 1.9 |
| 41 | Derek Perry | F | SO | 6–6 | 7.5 | 3.9 | 0.7 |
| 42 | Richard Kaye | F | SR | 6–6 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| 44 | Herb Bostic | F/G | SO | 6–4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| 45 | Kevin Radelet | G | JR | 5–11 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 45 | George Cooper | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | |||
| 52 | Steve Bates | C | JR | 6–10 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
|-!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=9 style=|Big Ten regular season