1980–81 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 1980–81 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1980–81 college basketball season . The team was coached by Sonny Smith , who was in his third season.
Newcomers to the team this season included freshman signees Greg Turner, Mark Cahill , and Paul Daniels. The team lost captains Bubba Price and Rich Valavicius, who graduated.
The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama . They finished the season 9–16, 4–14 in SEC play. They lost to Florida in the first round of the 1981 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament .[ 2]
Roster
1980–81 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
22
Eric Stringer
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Sr
Oxford High School
Hobson City, AL
F
44
Earl Banks
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
Sr
Holy Family High School
Birmingham, AL
C
45
Bobby Cattage
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
Sr
J.O. Johnson High School
Huntsville, AL
C
32
Darrell Lockhart
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
So
Robert E. Lee High School
Thomaston, GA
C
33
Frank Poindexter
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
So
G
23
Alvin Mumphord
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
So
G
3
Byron Henson
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
So
F
11
Greg Turner
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
Fr
Tuskegee High School
Tuskegee, AL
F
21
Mark Cahill
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
—
Fr
Stone Mountain High School
Stone Mountain, GA
G
00
Paul Daniels
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
—
Fr
Warner Christian
Ormond Beach, FL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Schedule and Results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Regular Season
December 1, 1980 *
Towson
W 87–63
1–0
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
December 3, 1980
Tennessee
W 75–65
2–0 (1–0)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
December 8, 1980 *
Tennessee Tech
W 77–62
3–0 (1–0)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
December 17, 1980 *
Florida State
W 78–74
4–0 (1–0)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
December 20, 1980 *
Austin Peay
W 52–51
5–0 (1–0)
Dunn Center Clarksville, Tennessee
December 29, 1980 *
Air Force
L 46–48 OT
5–1 (1–0)
John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio
December 30, 1980 *
Columbia
W 63–55
6–1 (1–0)
John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio
January 3, 1981
Ole Miss
L 45–46
6–2 (1–1)
Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi
January 7, 1981
No. 4 Kentucky
L 66–79
6–3 (1–2)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
January 10, 1981
Florida
L 59–63
6–4 (1–3)
O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida
January 14, 1981
Vanderbilt
L 81–97
6–5 (1–4)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
January 17, 1981
Mississippi State
L 61–69
6–6 (1–5)
Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi
January 21, 1981
No. 5 LSU
L 64–74
6–7 (1–6)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
January 24, 1981
Georgia
L 63–67
6–8 (1–7)
Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia
January 28, 1981
Alabama
L 73–83
6–9 (1–8)
Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama
January 31, 1981
Ole Miss
L 58–61
6–10 (1–9)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
February 4, 1981
No. 6 Kentucky
L 74–102
6–11 (1–10)
Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
February 7, 1981
Florida
L 50–55
6–12 (1–11)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
February 11, 1981
Vanderbilt
W 69–55
7–12 (2–11)
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
February 14, 1981
Mississippi State
W 66–55
8–12 (3–11)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
February 18, 1981
No. 4 LSU
L 47–58
8–13 (3–12)
Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
February 21, 1981
Georgia
L 65–76
8–14 (3–13)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
February 25, 1981
Alabama
W 56–54
9–14 (4–13)
Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama
February 28, 1981
No. 10 Tennessee
L 63–75
9–15 (4–14)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
SEC Tournament
March 4, 1981
(9)
(8) Florida First Round
L 48–50
9–16
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
SE=Southeast.
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics