1980–81 BYU Cougars men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1980–81 BYU Cougars Basketball BYU Cougars logo.svg Western Athletic Conference WAC 16 17 25–7 12–4 Frank Arnold 6th Roger Reid 3rd Harry Anderson Marriott Center NCAA Tournament 3-Seed Elite Eight The 1980–81 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 1980–81 college basketball season. This was head coach Frank Arnold's sixth season at BYU. The Cougars played their home games at the Marriott Center and reached the Elite Eight, where they fell to Virginia.https://www.deseret.com/2002/2/3/19635103/ainge-underachieving-1981-cougs-honored Ainge, 'underachieving' 1981 Cougs honored Jeff Call February 3, 2002 Deseret News Personnel 1980 BYU Cougars y Danny Ainge y 22 G 6 5 188 Sr Eugene, Oregon Greg Baliff 24 G 6 3 190 Jr Provo, Utah John Batholomew 31 F 6 6 195 Sr Raleigh, North Carolina Dave Challis 25 G 6 4 170 Sr Walnut Creek, California Craig Christensen 21 G 6 4 185 Jr Salt Lake City, Utah Steve Craig 23 G 6 3 180 Sr Los Angeles, California Gary Furniss 42 F 6 8 215 So Driggs, Idaho Greg Kite y 50 C 6 11 250 So Houston, TX Mike Maxwell 21 G 6 1 160 So Salt Lake City, Utah Dave McGuire 52 C 7 0 225 Jr West Covina, California Keith Rice 32 F 6 5 200 Sr Portland, Oregon Fred Roberts y 34 F 6 10 220 Jr Riverton, Utah Timo Saarelainen y 33 F 6 6 200 Fr Helsinki, Finland Steve Trumbo 44 F 6 8 223 Jr Las Vegas, Nevada Richie Webb 23 G 6 5 180 Fr Idaho Falls, Idaho https://byucougars.com/roster/m-basketball/1980-1981 2022-Oct-17 Frank Arnold Harry Anderson Roger Reid Schedule |- !colspan=9 style=BYU Cougars| Regular season Nov 28, 1980 yes yes 18 Washington Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, Washington 80–70 8,059 1–0 Nov 29, 1980 yes yes 18 Oregon State 7 Gill Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon 68–75 10,000 1–1 Dec 6, 1980 yes yes 19 1980 men Utah State Aggies Utah State Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, Utah 82–79 10,291 2–1 Dec 12, 1980 yes 19 1980 men North Texas Mean Green North Texas Marriott Center Provo, Utah 108–92 21,758 3–1 Dec 13, 1980 yes 19 1980 men Saint Mary's Gaels Saint Mary's Marriott Center Provo, Utah 95–76 21,583 4–1 Dec 16, 1980 yes 18 Michigan State Marriott Center Provo, Utah 82–50 20,703 5–1 Dec 19, 1980 yes yes 18 Illinois 17 Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee 80–75 11,905 6–1 Dec 20, 1980 yes yes 18 Tennessee Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee 65–81 12,700 6–2 Dec 23, 1980 yes yes 20 Weber State Dee Events Center Ogden, Utah 85–78 10,118 7–2 Dec 27, 1980 yes 20 1980 men Utah State Aggies Utah State Marriott Center Provo, Utah 104–89 23,037 8–2 Jan 2, 1981 yes 19 1980 men Air Force Falcons Air Force Clune Arena Colorado Springs, Colorado 77–65 5,600 9–2 1–0 Jan 3, 1981 yes yes 19 1980 men UNLV Runnin' Rebels UNLV Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nevada 92–90 6,393 10–2 Jan 8, 1981 17 1980 men San Diego State Aztecs San Diego State Marriott Center Provo, Utah 84–73 22,718 11–2 2–0 Jan 10, 1981 17 1980 men Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Hawaii Marriott Center Provo, Utah 91–74 22,873 12–2 3–0 Jan 15, 1981 yes 15 1980 men New Mexico Lobos New Mexico University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico 92–87 16,416 13–2 4–0 Jan 17, 1981 yes 15 1980 men UTEP Miners UTEP Special Events Center El Paso, Texas 62–64 9,825 13–3 4–1 Jan 23, 1981 18 1980 men Colorado State Rams Colorado State Marriott Center Provo, Utah 66–46 22,697 14–3 5–1 Jan 24, 1981 18 Wyoming Marriott Center Provo, Utah 84–70 22,983 15–3 6–1 Jan 31, 1981 yes 15 Utah 9 Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 56–60 15,281 15–4 6–2 Feb 6, 1981 16 UNLV Marriott Center Provo, Utah 86–77 22,841 16–4 Feb 7, 1981 16 Air Force Marriott Center Provo, Utah 62–51 22,724 17–4 7–2 Feb 12, 1981 yes 15 Hawaii Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii 77–72 3,948 18–4 8–2 Feb 14, 1981 yes 15 San Diego State San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California 72–73 6,883 18–5 8–3 Feb 19, 1981 17 UTEP Marriott Center Provo, Utah 84–75 22,373 19–5 9–3 Feb 21, 1981 17 New Mexico Marriott Center Provo, Utah 78–72 22,184 20–5 10–3 Feb 26, 1981 yes 15 Wyoming War Memorial Fieldhouse Laramie, Wyoming 84–86 9,300 20–6 10–4 Feb 28, 1981 yes 15 Colorado State Moby Arena Fort Collins, Colorado 80–69 5,107 21–6 11–4 Mar 7, 1981 18 Utah 9 Marriott Center Provo, Utah 95–76 23,106 22–6 12–4 |- !colspan=9 style=BYU Cougars| NCAA Tournament Mar 12, 1981 yes yes 16 6 E Princeton 11 E Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island First round 60–51 8,273 23–6 Mar 14, 1981 yes yes 16 6 E UCLA 10 3 E Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island Second Round 78–55B.Y.U. Gains in East, As Does Notre Dame https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/15/sports/byu-gains-in-east-as-does-notre-dame.html The New York Times March 15, 1981 February 25, 2023 12,823 24–6 Mar 19, 1981 yes yes 16 6 E Notre Dame 7 2 E Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen 51–50B.Y.U. Defeats Irish, 51-50; North Carolina Ousts Utah https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/20/sports/byu-defeats-irish-51-50-north-carolina-ousts-utahz.html The New York Times March 20, 1981 February 24, 2023 15,461 25–6 Mar 21, 1981 yes yes 16 6 E Virginia 5 1 E Omni Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia East Regional final – Elite Eight 60–74Virginia and North Carolina Reach N.C.A.A Final Four https://www.nytimes.com/1981/03/22/sports/virginia-and-north-carolina-reach-ncaa-final-four-cavaliers-down-byu-74-60.html The New York Times March 22, 1981 February 25, 2023 15,461 25–7 AP Poll E East https://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/MBB1/B/Men's%20Basketball_Men's_Division%20I_1981_77_Brigham%20Young%20University.pdf 1980-81 BYU Men's Basketball Stats NCAA Career Statistics Rankings 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 877–878 2009 978-0-345-51392-2 Awards and honors Danny Ainge – WAC Player of the Year NBA draft 1981 NBA draft BYU Cougars Round Pick Player NBA club 2 31 Danny Ainge Boston Celtics Source:https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1981.html 1981 NBA Draft Basketball-reference.com June 20, 2020 References Category:BYU Cougars men's basketball seasons Byu Byu Category:1980 in sports in Utah Category:1981 in sports in Utah