1980–81 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team American college basketball season
1980–81 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf
Overall
Team
W
L
PCT
W
L
PCT
No. 9 Indiana
14
–
4
.778
26
–
9
.743
No. 13 Iowa
13
–
5
.722
21
–
7
.750
No. 19 Illinois
12
–
6
.667
21
–
8
.724
Purdue
10
–
8
.556
21
–
11
.656
Minnesota
9
–
9
.500
19
–
11
.633
Ohio State
9
–
9
.500
14
–
13
.519
Michigan
8
–
10
.444
19
–
11
.633
Michigan State
7
–
11
.389
13
–
14
.481
Wisconsin
5
–
13
.278
11
–
16
.407
Northwestern
3
–
15
.167
9
–
18
.333
Rankings from AP Poll
The 1980–81 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa as members of the Big Ten Conference . The team was led by head coach Lute Olson , coaching in his 7th season at the school, and played their home games at the Iowa Field House . They finished the season 21–7 overall and 13–5 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as #3 seed in the Midwest Regional, but fell 60–56 to #6 seed Wichita State in the Round of 32 – a game played on the Shockers' home floor.
Roster
1980–81 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Schedule/results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Non-Conference Regular Season
Nov 29, 1980 *
No. 14
at Northern Illinois
W 61–47
1–0
Chick Evans Field House DeKalb, Illinois
Dec 1, 1980 *
No. 12
Detroit
W 98–55
2–0
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Dec 5, 1980 *
No. 12
vs. Cincinnati
W 69–64
3–0
ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona
Dec 6, 1980 *
No. 12
at Arizona State
L 88–96
3–1
ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona
Dec 9, 1980 *
No. 16
Nevada
W 112–71
4–1
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Dec 13, 1980 *
No. 16
at Drake "Big Four"
W 90–68
5–1
Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa
Dec 20, 1980 *
No. 16
Iowa State Rivalry
W 85–59
6–1
Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA
Dec 30, 1980 *
No. 14
Northern Iowa "Big Four"
W 86–52
7–1
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Big Ten Regular Season
Jan 8, 1981
No. 11
Ohio State
L 56–58
7–2 (0–1)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Jan 10, 1981
No. 11
Michigan State
W 65–57
8–2 (1–1)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Jan 15, 1981
No. 14
at Wisconsin
W 76–66
9–2 (2–1)
Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin
Jan 17, 1981
No. 14
at No. 9 Michigan
W 73–58[ 1]
10–2 (3–1)
Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 22, 1981
No. 9
at Indiana
W 56–53[ 2]
11–2 (4–1)
Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN
Jan 24, 1981 *
No. 9
Minnesota
L 48–60
11–3 (4–2)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Jan 29, 1981
No. 13
Purdue
W 84–67
12–3 (5–2)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Jan 31, 1981
No. 13
at Illinois Rivalry
L 66–79
13–4 (5–3)
Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois
Feb 5, 1981
No. 15
at Northwestern
W 76–65
14–4 (6–3)
Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois
Feb 7, 1981
No. 15
No. 18 Illinois Rivalry
W 72–66
15–4 (7–3)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Feb 12, 1981
No. 14
at Minnesota
W 60–58
16–4 (8–3)
Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota
Feb 14, 1981
No. 14
Northwestern
W 82–64
17–4 (9–3)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Feb 19, 1981
No. 12
No. 16 Indiana
W 78–65[ 3]
18–4 (10–3)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA
Feb 21, 1981
No. 12
at Purdue
W 67–62
19–4 (11–3)
Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana
Feb 26, 1981
No. 8
Michigan
W 69–66
20–4 (12–3)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Feb 28, 1981
No. 8
Wisconsin
W 96–75[ 4]
21–4 (13–3)
Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa
Mar 5, 1981
No. 8
at Michigan State
L 70–71
21–5 (13–4)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan
Mar 7, 1981
No. 8
at Ohio State
L 70–78
21–6 (13–5)
St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio
NCAA Tournament
3/15/1981 *
(3 MW) No. 13
at (6 MW) Wichita State Second Round
L 56–60[ 5]
21–7
Levitt Arena Wichita, KS
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
Rankings
References
^ "Team hustle powers Iowa past Wolves" (PDF) . The Daily Iowan . January 19, 1981. p. 13. Retrieved February 2, 2016 .
^ "Iowa ends the jinx with win over Indiana" . Chicago Tribune . January 23, 1981. Retrieved February 2, 2016 .
^ "Hawkeyes electrify, 78-65" (PDF) . The Daily Iowan . February 20, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved February 2, 2016 .
^ "Badgers buried under Iowa's 21st win" (PDF) . The Daily Iowan . March 2, 1981. Retrieved February 2, 2016 .
^ "Wichita St. ends Iowa's title dream" . Chicago Tribune . March 16, 1981. Retrieved February 2, 2016 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics
Information related to 1980–81 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team