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1980–81 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team

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1980–81 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Record24–9 (9–5 Big Eight)
Head coach
Assistant coachLon Kruger (2nd season)
Home arenaAhearn Field House
Seasons
1980–81 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Missouri 10 4   .714 22 10   .688
Kansas State 9 5   .643 24 9   .727
Nebraska 9 5   .643 15 12   .556
Kansas 9 5   .643 24 8   .750
Oklahoma State 8 6   .571 18 9   .667
Colorado 5 9   .357 16 12   .571
Oklahoma 4 10   .286 9 18   .333
Iowa State 2 12   .143 9 18   .333
1981 Big Eight tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1980–81 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University as a member of the Big Eight Conference in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jack Hartman and played their home games at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats finished second in the conference regular season standings and received a bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 8 seed in the West region. The Wildcats beat No. 9 seed San Francisco in the opening round,[2] then upset No. 1 seed Oregon State and No. 4 seed Illinois to reach the regional final where they lost to North Carolina in Elite Eight, 82–68.[3] Kansas State finished with a record of 24–9 (9–5 Big Eight).

Roster

[edit]
1980–81 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 12 Tim Jankovich 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Manhattan, Kansas
G 25 Rolando Blackman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Brooklyn, New York
F 45 Ed Nealy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Jr Bonner Springs, Kansas
F 52 Randy Reed 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr St. Louis, Missouri
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[4]

Schedule

[edit]
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
November 29*
Northern Iowa W 72–54  1–0
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
December 1*
South Dakota W 83–50  2–0
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
December 6*
at Arizona W 55–53  3–0
McKale Center 
Tucson, Arizona
December 8*
at No. 15 Arizona State L 61–84  3–1
ASU Activity Center 
Tempe, Arizona
December 13*
Wisconsin-Parkside W 72–58  4–1
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
December 20*
US International W 76–45  5–1
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
December 23*
No. 15 Indiana L 44–51  5–2
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
December 27*
vs. No. 17 Arkansas W 47–46  6–2
 
Kansas City, Mo
December 31*
Fresno State W 47–39  7–2
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
January 3*
Louisville W 64–47  8–2
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
January 6*
Oklahoma City W 97–79  9–2
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
January 10*
Eastern Illinois W 74–62  10–2
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
January 14
at Nebraska L 49–59  10–3
(0–1)
Bob Devaney Sports Center 
Lincoln, Nebraska
January 17
at Colorado W 63–62  11–3
(1–1)
CU Events Center 
Boulder, Colorado
January 21
Oklahoma State L 83–90  11–4
(1–2)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
January 24
at Oklahoma L 63–65  11–5
(1–3)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
January 28
No. 18 Kansas W 54–43  12–5
(2–3)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
January 31
at Iowa State W 75–62  13–5
(3–3)
Hilton Coliseum (11,238)
Ames, Iowa
February 4
Missouri W 75–65  14–5
(4–3)
Ahearn Field House (11,290)
Manhattan, Kansas
February 7
Colorado W 82–62  15–5
(5–3)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
February 11
at Oklahoma State W 73–70  16–5
(6–3)
Gallagher-Iba Arena 
Stillwater, Oklahoma
February 14
Nebraska W 66–49  17–5
(7–3)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
February 18
at Kansas L 49–51  17–6
(7–4)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, Kansas
February 21
Oklahoma W 108–71  18–6
(8–4)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
February 25
Iowa State W 67–60  19–6
(9–4)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
February 28
at Missouri L 43–46  19–7
(9–5)
Hearnes Center (12,906)
Columbia, Missouri
Big 8 tournament
March 3
(2) (7) Oklahoma
Quarterfinals
W 75–56  20–7
(9–5)
Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, Kansas
March 4
(2) vs. (6) Colorado
Semifinals
W 64–61  21–7
(9–5)
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
March 5
(2) vs. (4) Kansas
Championship
L 68–80  21–8
(9–5)
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
March 12
(8 W) vs. (9 W) San Francisco
First round
W 64–60[2]  22–8
(9–5)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, California
March 14
(8 W) vs. (1 W) No. 2 Oregon State
Second round
W 50–48[5]  23–8
(9–5)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, California
March 19
(8 W) vs. (4 W) No. 19 Illinois
West Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 57–52  24–8
(9–5)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,450)
Salt Lake City, Utah
March 21
(8 W) vs. (2 W) No. 6 North Carolina
West Regional Final – Elite Eight
L 68–82[3]  24–9
(9–5)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Central Time.

Source[6][7]

Team players drafted into the NBA

[edit]
Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 9 Rolando Blackman Dallas Mavericks

References

[edit]
  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1980-81 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ a b "Kansas State Rallies to Win". The Washington Post. March 13, 1981. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "VIRGINIA AND NORTH CAROLINA REACH N.C.A.A. FINAL FOUR". The New York Times. March 22, 1981. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "1980-81 Men's Basketball Roster". Kansas State University Athletics. February 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Layden, Tim (March 14, 2012). "March 14, 1981: When the NCAA tournament became Madness". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "1980-81 Kansas State Wildcats Schedule and Results". CBBRef. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  7. ^ "1980-81 K-State Schedule". K-State Basketball. K-State Athletics. Retrieved July 12, 2021.