1980–81 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Record249 (95 Big Eight)
Head coach
Assistant coachLon Kruger (2nd season)
Home arenaAhearn Field House
1980–81 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Missouri104 .7142210  .688
Kansas State95 .643249  .727
Nebraska95 .6431512  .556
Kansas95 .643248  .750
Oklahoma State86 .571189  .667
Colorado59 .3571612  .571
Oklahoma410 .286918  .333
Iowa State212 .143918  .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

1980–81 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
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

    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 
    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 
    Columbia, Missouri
    Big 8 Tournament
    March 3
    Oklahoma W 75–56  20–7
    (9–5)
    Ahearn Field House 
    Manhattan, Kansas
    March 4
    vs. Colorado W 64–61  21–7
    (9–5)
    Kemper Arena 
    Kansas City, Missouri
    March 5
    vs. Kansas L 68–80  21–8
    (9–5)
    Kemper Arena 
    Kansas City, Missouri
    NCAA Tournament
    March 12
    (8 W) vs. (9 W) San Francisco W 64–60  22–8
    (9–5)
    Pauley Pavilion 
    Los Angeles, California
    March 14
    (8 W) vs. (1 W) No. 2 Oregon State 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 
    Salt Lake City, Utah
    March 21
    (8 W) vs. (2 W) No. 6 North Carolina
    West Regional Final – Elite Eight
    L 68–82  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.

    Source[6][7]

    Team players drafted into the NBA

    Round Pick Player NBA Club
    19Rolando BlackmanDallas Mavericks

    References

    1. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Big Eight Conference Season Summary
    2. "Kansas State Rallies to Win". The Washington Post. March 13, 1981. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
    3. "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. "March 14, 1981: When the NCAA tournament became Madness". Sports Illustrated. March 14, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2023. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
    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.
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