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. 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 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. 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 head 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. The possibility of postponing or cancelling 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.What a night to be in Bloomington 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. Two No. 1 seeds (LSU and Virginia) advanced to the NCAA tournament Final Four for the first time. 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 tournament had included a national third-place game since 1946. For the last time, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) included a third-place game between the two teams that lost in the semifinals. The tournament had included a third-place game since the first NIT in 1938. 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. 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) 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.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP and UPI polls during the pre-season.*
Associated PressRankingTeam1 Kentucky (30)2 DePaul (18)3 Louisville (2)4 Maryland (2)5 Indiana (2)6 UCLA (2)7 Oregon State (1)8 Virginia (1)9 Ohio State (1)10 Notre Dame11 Missouri12 Louisiana State13 North Carolina14 Iowa15 Texas A&M16 Georgetown17 St. John's18 Brigham Young19 Syracuse20 Arkansas UPI CoachesRankingTeam1 Kentucky2 DePaul3 Louisville4 Indiana 5 Maryland 6 Oregon State7 Virginia8 UCLA9 Ohio State10 Missouri11 North Carolina12 Notre Dame13 Louisiana State14 Texas A&M15 Iowa16 Georgetown17 Brigham Young18 Kansas State19 St. John's20 Arizona State
Conference membership changes SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Division I independent Western Athletic Conference Division II independent Ohio Valley Conference Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference SIAC (D-II) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Division I independent Midwestern City Conference Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Division I independent Division III independent Sun Belt Conference Division I independent Division II independent Division I independent Division II independent Division I independent Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference ECAC North Conference Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8) West Coast Athletic Conference NAIA independent Division II independent Division I independent Trans America Athletic Conference Division I independent Eastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8) Big East Conference
Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments
ConferenceRegular season winnerConference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAtlantic Coast Conference Virginia Ralph Sampson, Virginia2008–09 ACC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Year by Year section , retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 ACC men's basketball tournament Capital Centre(Landover, Maryland) North CarolinaBig East Conference Boston College John Bagley, Boston College2008–09 Big East Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section , Big East Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Big East men's basketball tournament Carrier Dome(Syracuse, New York) SyracuseBig Eight Conference Missouri Andre Smith, Nebraska2008–09 Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Guide – Awards section, Big 12 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena(Kansas City, Missouri)(Semifinals and Finals) KansasBig Sky Conference Idaho Brian Kellerman, Idaho, Big Sky Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Kibbie Dome(Moscow, Idaho) IdahoBig Ten Conference Indiana None Selected No TournamentEast Coast Conference American (East) Lafayette & Rider (West) Len Hatzenbeller, Drexel 1981 East Coast Conference men's basketball tournament The Palestra(Philadelphia) St. Joseph'sEastern Athletic Association (Eastern 8) Duquesne & Rhode Island Earl Belcher, St. Bonaventure2008–09 A-10 men's basketball media guide – Awards section , Atlantic 10 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Eastern 8 men's basketball tournament Civic Arena (Pittsburgh) Pittsburgh Eastern College AthleticConference (ECAC) Division I ECAC membersplayed as independentsduring 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 MadisonECAC North Northeastern Mike Ferrara, ColgateAmerica East Men's Basketball Players of the Year, America East Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 ECAC North men's basketball tournament Cabot Center(Boston) NortheasternIvy League Princeton Larry Lawrence, DartmouthMen's Ivy League Outstanding performers , Ivy League, retrieved 2010-08-06 No TournamentMetro Conference Louisville David Burns, Saint Louis & Derek Smith, Louisville 1981 Metro Conference men's basketball tournament Freedom Hall(Louisville, Kentucky) LouisvilleMid-American Conference Ball State, Northern Illinois, Toledo, W. Michigan & Bowling Green Harvey Knuckles, Toledo2008–09 MAC Men's BAsketball Media Guide – Records Section, Mid-American Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 MAC men's basketball tournament Crisler Arena(Ann Arbor, Michigan) Ball StateMid-Eastern Athletic Conference North Carolina A&T Larry Spriggs, Howard 1981 MEAC men's basketball tournament Winston–Salem Memorial Coliseum(Winston-Salem, North Carolina) Howard2008–09 MEAC men's basketball media guide , MEAC, retrieved 2010-08-06Midwestern City Conference Xavier Darius Clemons, Loyola (IL) & Rubin Jackson, Oklahoma City2008–09 Horizon League Men's Basketball Record Book , Horizon League, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Midwestern City Conference men's basketball tournament Final at Riverfront Coliseum(Cincinnati) Oklahoma CityMissouri Valley Conference Wichita State Lewis Lloyd, Drake2008–09 MVC Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section, Missouri Valley Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Levitt Arena(Wichita, Kansas) CreightonOhio Valley Conference Western Kentucky Jerry Beck, Middle Tennessee St.2008–09 OVC men's basketball media guide, Ohio Valley Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament E. A. Diddle Arena(Bowling Green, Kentucky) Western KentuckyPacific-10 Conference Oregon State Steve Johnson, Oregon State2008–09 Pacific-10 Men's Basketball Media Guide- Honors Section , Pacific-10 Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 No TournamentPacific Coast Athletic Association Fresno State Kevin Magee, UC Irvine2008–09 Big West Men's Basketball Media Guide , Big West Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Pacific Coast Athletic Association men's basketball tournament Anaheim Convention Center(Anaheim, California) Fresno StateSoutheastern Conference LSU Rudy Macklin, LSU 1981 SEC men's basketball tournament Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex(Birmingham, Alabama) MississippiSouthern Conference Appalachian State, Davidson & UT-Chattanooga Charles Payton, Appalachian State2008–09 SoCon Men's Basketball Media Guide – Honors Section , Southern Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Roanoke Civic Center(Roanoke, Virginia) UT-ChattanoogaSouthland Conference Lamar Mike Olliver, Lamar2008–09 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide, Southland Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament McDonald Gym(Beaumont, Texas) (Semifinals and finals) LamarSouthwest Conference Arkansas Rob Williams, Houston 1981 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament HemisFair Arena(San Antonio, Texas) HoustonSouthwestern Athletic Conference Alcorn State & Southern-BR Harry Kelly, Texas Southern & Robert Williams, Grambling State 1981 SWAC men's basketball tournament LSU Assembly Center(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) Southern-BRSun Belt Conference VCU, South Alabama & UAB Ed Rains, South Alabama2007–08 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Media Guide, Sun Belt Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum(Jacksonville, Florida) VCUTrans America Athletic Conference Houston Baptist Benton Wade, MercerAtlantic Sun men's basketball record book, Atlantic Sun Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 1981 TAAC men's basketball tournament Hirsch Coliseum(Shreveport, Louisiana) MercerWest Coast Athletic Conference Pepperdine &San Francisco Quintin Dailey, San Francisco2008–09 WCC Men's Basketball Media Guide , West Coast Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 No TournamentWestern Athletic Conference Utah & Wyoming Danny Ainge, BYU2009–10 WAC Men's Basketball Media Guide , Western Athletic Conference, retrieved 2010-08-06 No Tournament