1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season explained
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.
- 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
- At 7:06 p.m. on November 29, 1980, Ronnie Carr of Western Carolina scored a 23feet 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.[1]
- 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.[2]
- 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.[3]
- 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.[4]
- Two No. 1 seeds (LSU and Virginia) advanced to the NCAA tournament Final Four for the first time.[4]
- 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 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.[4]
- 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)[5]
- 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.[6]
- The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference played its first season as a Division I conference.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
See main article: 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings.
The top 20 from the AP and UPI polls during the pre-season.[7]
Regular season
Conference winners and tournaments
| Conference | Regular
season winner[8] | Conference
player of the year | Conference
tournament | Tournament
venue (City) | Tournament
winner |
|---|
| | Ralph Sampson, Virginia[9] | | Capital Centre
(Landover, Maryland) | North Carolina |
| | John Bagley, Boston College[10] | | Carrier Dome
(Syracuse, New York) | Syracuse |
| | Andre Smith, Nebraska[11] | | Kemper Arena
(Kansas City, Missouri)
(Semifinals and Finals) | Kansas |
| | Brian Kellerman, Idaho[12] | | Kibbie Dome
(Moscow, Idaho) | Idaho |
| | None Selected | No Tournament |
| American (East)
Lafayette & Rider (West) | | | The Palestra
(Philadelphia) | St. Joseph's |
| Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8) | | Earl Belcher, St. Bonaventure[13] | | Civic Arena
(Pittsburgh) | 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 |
| | Mike Ferrara, Colgate[14] | | Cabot Center
(Boston) | Northeastern |
| | Larry Lawrence, Dartmouth[15] | No Tournament |
| | | | Freedom Hall
(Louisville, Kentucky) | Louisville |
| | Harvey Knuckles, Toledo[16] | | Crisler Arena
(Ann Arbor, Michigan) | Ball State |
| | | | Winston–Salem Memorial Coliseum
(Winston-Salem, North Carolina) | Howard[17] |
| | Darius Clemons, Loyola (IL) & Rubin Jackson, Oklahoma City[18] | | Final at Riverfront Coliseum
(Cincinnati) | Oklahoma City |
| | Lewis Lloyd, Drake[19] | | Levitt Arena
(Wichita, Kansas) | Creighton |
| | Jerry Beck, Middle Tennessee St.[20] | | E. A. Diddle Arena
(Bowling Green, Kentucky) | Western Kentucky |
| | Steve Johnson, Oregon State[21] | No Tournament |
| | Kevin Magee, UC Irvine[22] | | Anaheim Convention Center
(Anaheim, California) | Fresno State |
| | Rudy Macklin, LSU[23] [24] | | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex
(Birmingham, Alabama) | Mississippi |
| | Charles Payton, Appalachian State[25] | | Roanoke Civic Center
(Roanoke, Virginia) | UT-Chattanooga |
| | Mike Olliver, Lamar[26] | | McDonald Gym
(Beaumont, Texas) (Semifinals and finals) | Lamar |
| | | | HemisFair Arena
(San Antonio, Texas) | Houston |
| | Harry Kelly, Texas Southern & Robert Williams, Grambling State[27] [28] | | LSU Assembly Center
(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) | Southern-BR |
| | Ed Rains, South Alabama[29] | | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum
(Jacksonville, Florida) | VCU |
| | Benton Wade, Mercer[30] | | Hirsch Coliseum
(Shreveport, Louisiana) | Mercer |
| | Quintin Dailey, San Francisco[31] | No Tournament |
| | Danny Ainge, BYU[32] | No Tournament | |
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.
[33] Informal championships
NOTE: All five teams finished with a 2–2 record in head-to-head competition, resulting in a five-way tie.
Statistical leaders
| | | | | | |
| Player | School | PPG | | Player | School | RPG | | Player | School | FG% | | Player | School | FT% |
|---|
| | 28.9 | | | | 14.0 | | | | 74.6 | | | | 92.7 |
| | 28.6 | | | | 13.4 | | | | 67.1 | | | | 92.2 |
| | 27.5 | | | | 13.1 | | | | 65.0 | | | | 90.1 |
| | 26.3 | | | | 12.5 | | | | 64.7 | | | | 90.0 |
| | 25.0 | | | | 12.3 | | | | 64.3 | | | | 89.1 | |
Post-season tournaments
NCAA tournament
See main article: 1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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
See main article: 1981 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
See main article: 1981 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
Major player of the year awards
Major coach of the year awards
Other major awards
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
Notes and References
- Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 13.
- And A Little Child Led Them. Sports Illustrated. 2010-08-07 . 1981-04-06.
- http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/hoosiershq/historia/1981/?sid=95 What a night to be in Bloomington
- Web site: Playing Rules History . . . ncaa.org . NCAA . June 25, 2024 . 12.
- Web site: 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book . (p. 22) . . 7 August 2010.
- This Court Transplant Took. Sports Illustrated. 2010-08-07 . 1982-03-01.
- Book: ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. 978-0-345-51392-2.
- News: 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section. 2009. NCAA. 2010-08-01.
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/acc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/09mbkguide083112.pdf 2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section
- http://www.bigeast.org/fls/19400/pdfs/mensbball/record-book.pdf?SPSID=92557&SPID=11228&DB_OEM_ID=19400 2008–09 Big East Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section
- http://www.big12sports.com//pdf1/147025.pdf 2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section
- https://archive.today/20120722162522/http://www.bigskyconf.com/Sports/mbball/2008/MBBAwardWinners060508.asp Men's Basketball Award Winners
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/atl10/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/0809-mg-pt8.pdf 2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Awards section
- http://www.americaeast.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=59734&SPID=6548&DB_OEM_ID=14000&ATCLID=696988 America East Men's Basketball Players of the Year
- http://www.ivyleaguesports.com/sports/alltime.asp?intSID=6 Men's Ivy League Outstanding performers
- http://mac-sports.com/pdf5/153033.pdf?ATCLID=1620714&SPSID=42971&SPID=3803&DB_OEM_ID=9400 2008–09 MAC Men's BAsketball Media Guide – Records Section
- https://admin.xosn.com/fls/20800/media_guides/2008-09/mens_basketball/MBBRecords.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=20800 2008–09 MEAC men's basketball media guide
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/hori/genrel/auto_pdf/Records-MBB.pdf 2008–09 Horizon League Men's Basketball Record Book
- https://web.archive.org/web/20200828070242/http://mvc-sports.com/pdf1/145747.pdf?ATCLID=1599065&SPID=2901&DB_OEM_ID=7600&SPSID=96987 2008–09 MVC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section
- http://www.ovcsports.com//pdf4/143211.pdf?SPSID=31046&SPID=2443&DB_OEM_ID=6200 2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/pac10/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/Honors.pdf 2008–09 Pacific-10 Men's Basketball Media Guide- Honors Section
- http://www.bigwest.org/sports/mbball/0708_MB_Media_Guide.pdf 2008–09 Big West Men's Basketball Media Guide
- News: Macklin Named SEC Top Player . . . March 4, 1981 . 45. . February 20, 2024.
- News: Macklin named SEC Player of Year . . . March 5, 1981 . 11. Newspapers.com . February 20, 2024.
- http://www.soconsports.com/fls/4000/socon/files/0809mbkguide/honorsandawards.pdf?SPSID=35819&SPID=1798&DB_OEM_ID=4000 2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section
- http://www.southland.org/pdf7/153625.pdf?ATCLID=1287496&SPSID=97316&SPID=10825&temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=18400 2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide
- News: GSU cagers land on all-SWAC team . The Shreveport Times. March 5, 1981. 31. Newspapers.com. August 14, 2019.
- News: GSU honors Williams, Jackson . The Shreveport Times. April 23, 1981. 33. Newspapers.com. August 14, 2019.
- http://www.sunbeltsports.org/pdf7/93641.pdf?ATCLID=1293051&SPID=1825&DB_OEM_ID=4100&SPSID=22332 2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide
- http://www.atlanticsun.org/media/2008-09/pdf/Records-MBasketball.pdf Atlantic Sun men's basketball record book
- http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/west/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2008-09mbbrecordbook.pdf 2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide
- http://www.wacsports.com/pdf4/652254.pdf 2009–10 WAC Men's Basketball Media Guide
- http://jonfmorse.com/wiki/index.php?title=ECAC_Men%27s_Basketball_Tournaments Varsity Pride: ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments
