1979–80 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1979–80 Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball Big Ten Conference Big Ten 23–10 10–8 Lute Olson 6th Jim Rosborough 6th Tony McAndrews 3rd Ken Burmeister 1st Ronnie Lester Iowa Field House NCAA tournament Final Four The 1979–80 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1979–80 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Lute Olson and played their home games at the Iowa Field House. They finished with a 23–10 (10–8 Big Ten) record, and reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament as champions of the East Region. To date, this is Iowa's most recent appearance in the NCAA Final Four in men's basketball. Roster 1979 Iowa Hawkeyes men's y Mike Arens 23 G 6 4 180 Sr Chicago, Illinois Kenny Arnold 30 G 6 2 185 So Chicago, Illinois Greg Boyle 14 G 6 2 180 Fr Mundelein, Illinois Kevin Boyle basketball y 40 F 6 6 195 So Chicago, Illinois Vince Brookins 32 G 6 5 205 Jr Cleveland, Ohio Jon Darsee 20 F 6 5 195 So West Des Moines, Iowa Mark Gannon 44 F 6 6 215 Fr Iowa City, Iowa Tom Grogan 10 G 6 3 179 Fr Kansas City, Kansas Bob Hansen y 24 G 6 5 190 Fr Des Moines, Iowa Mike Heller 50 F 6 8 215 Fr St. Paul, Minnesota Mike Henry 42 F 6 9 205 Jr Elgin, Illinois Steve Krafcisin 54 C 6 10 230 Jr Chicago, Illinois Ronnie Lester y 12 G 6 2 175 Sr Chicago, Illinois Steve Waite 52 C 6 10 225 Jr Iowa City, Iowa http://web1.ncaa.org/app_data/statsPDFArchive/MBB1/B/Men's%20Basketball_Men's_Division%20I_1980_110_University%20of%20California,%20Los%20Angeles.pdf Lute Olson Jim Rosborough Tony McAndrews Ken Burmeister 1980 NCAA Final Four program March 1980 Schedule and results yes yes |- !colspan=9 style=Iowa Hawkeyes| Regular season December 1, 1979 yes 1979 men Northern Illinois Huskies Northern Illinois Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 86–43 Krafcisin 15 Krafcisin 8 Tied 4 13,365 1–0 December 3, 1979 yes 1979 men Colorado State Rams Colorado State Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 113–66 Krafcisin 19 Krafcisin 9 Arnold 9 13,365 2–0 December 6, 1979 yes 20 1979 men Northern Iowa Panthers Northern Iowa Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 78–46 Lester 21 Boyle 8 Hansen 7 13,365 3–0 December 8, 1979 yes yes 20 1979 men Detroit Titans Detroit Calihan Hall Detroit, MI 80–54 Lester 26 Waite 15 Tied 3 6,123 4–0 December 11, 1979 yes yes 17 1979 men Wichita State Shockers Wichita State Charles Koch Arena Wichita, KS 81–62 Lester 23 Arnold 9 Tied 3 10,535 5–0 December 15, 1979 yes yes 17 Iowa State Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series 67–64 Lester 23 Waite 9 Lester 5 14,000 6–0 December 21, 1979 yes yes 13 1979 men Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH UD Invitational Tournament Semifinals 81–62 Arnold 18 Waite 11 Arnold 8 7–0 December 22, 1979 yes yes 13 1979 men Dayton Flyers Dayton University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH UD Invitational Tournament Finals 61–54 Arnold 17 Krafcisin 8 Arnold 4 10,612 8–0 December 29, 1979 yes 11 1979 men Drake Bulldogs Drake Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 77–66 Brookins 20 Brookins 14 Boyle 6 13,365 9–0 January 3, 1980 yes 10 Illinois 20 Assembly Hall Champaign, IL 72–71 Boyle 21 Tied 7 Boyle 4 10,839 10–0 1–0 January 5, 1980 yes 10 Michigan Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI 65–68 Brookins 25 Krafcisin 6 Tied 3 11,047 10–1 1–1 January 10, 1980 12 Ohio State 3 Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 71–77 Tied 14 Tied 12 Boyle 6 13,365 10–2 1–2 January 12, 1980 12 Wisconsin Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 66–65 Krafcisin 15 Krafcisin 9 Tied 4 13,365 11–2 2–2 January 17, 1980 yes 13 Indiana 19 Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN 69–81 Krafcisin 16 Krafcisin 10 Tied 5 17,136 11–3 2–3 January 19, 1980 yes 13 Michigan State Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI 67–75 Tied 16 Krafcisin 10 Arnold 6 10,004 11–4 2–4 January 24, 1980 1979 men Northwestern Wildcats Northwestern Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 86–64 Boyle 24 Krafcisin 10 Arnold 7 13,365 12–4 3–4 January 26, 1980 Minnesota Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 80–73 Arnold 27 Waite 10 Boyle 7 13,365 13–4 4–4 January 31, 1980 yes Purdue 17 Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN 56–70 Krafcisin 17 Krafcisin 10 Hansen 3 14,123 13–5 4–5 February 2, 1980 yes Minnesota Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN 73–63 Arnold 19 Krafcisin 9 Arnold 4 17,506 14–5 5–5 February 7, 1980 Michigan State Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 44–39 Krafcisin 20 Waite 6 Arnold 6 OT 13,365 15–5 6–5 February 9, 1980 Purdue 12 Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 74–59 Arnold 20 Boyle 12 Arnold 6 13,366 16–5 7–5 February 14, 1980 20 Indiana Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 55–66 Hansen 13 Tied 8 Arnold 7 13,366 16–6 7–6 February 16, 1980 yes 20 Northwestern Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL 60–58 Boyle 15 Krafcisin 8 Arnold 4 6,679 17–6 8–6 February 21, 1980 yes 12 Wisconsin Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI 58–62 Krafcisin 23 Krafcisin 5 Boyle 5 13,365 17–7 8–7 February 23, 1980 yes Ohio State 11 St. John Arena Columbus, OH 69–70 Krafcisin 20 Waite 11 Hansen 6 13,591 17–8 8–8 February 28, 1980 Michigan Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 83–67 Krafcisin 23 Krafcisin 9 Arnold 8 13,365 18–8 9–8 March 1, 1980 Illinois Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA 75–71 Lester 15 Boyle 11 Tied 5 13,365 19–8 10–8 |- !colspan=9 style=Iowa Hawkeyes|NCAA Tournament March 6, 1980 yes yes 5 E Virginia Commonwealth 12 E Greensboro Memorial Coliseum Greensboro, NC First round 86–72 Arnold 23 Waite 10 Lester 8 6,865 20–8 March 8, 1980 yes yes 5 E North Carolina State 4 E 19 Greensboro Memorial Coliseum Greensboro, NC Second Round 77–64 Arnold 18 Boyle 7 Lester 4 13,210 21–8 March 14, 1980 yes yes 5 E Syracuse 1 E 3 The Spectrum Philadelphia, PA East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen 88–77Iowa Gains Final With 88-77 Victory https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1980/03/15/iowa-gains-final-with-88-77-victory/b3c552b1-1f24-4e69-b4db-650538a49a6c/ The Washington Post March 15, 1980 July 11, 2020 Brookins 21 Tied 5 Lester 7 17,569 22–8 March 16, 1980 yes yes 5 E Georgetown 3 E 20 The Spectrum Philadelphia, PA East Regional Final – Elite Eight 81–80Iowa Trips Georgetown, 81-80 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1980/03/17/iowa-trips-georgetown-81-80/31a5f6d3-c5d6-42ed-8ca5-e8ccdb68c9a7/ The Washington Post March 17, 1980 July 11, 2020Georgetown Beaten, 81-80; Iowa Topples Georgetown 'Craziest Season' https://www.nytimes.com/1980/03/17/archives/georgetown-beaten-8180-iowa-topples-georgetown-craziest-season.html The New York Times March 17, 1980 July 11, 2020Spectacular Hawkeyes head for Inday http://dailyiowan.lib.uiowa.edu/DI/1980/di1980-03-17.pdf The Daily Iowan March 17, 1980 July 11, 2020GLORY DAY FOR THE MEN OF I-O-WAY https://vault.si.com/vault/1980/03/24/glory-day-for-the-men-of-ioway https://web.archive.org/web/20200711225124/https://vault.si.com/vault/1980/03/24/glory-day-for-the-men-of-ioway dead July 11, 2020 Sports Illustrated March 24, 1980 July 11, 2020 Brookins 22 Tied 4 Lester 9 15,981 23–8 March 22, 1980 yes yes 5 E Louisville 2 MW 4 Market Square Arena Indianapolis, IN National semifinal – Final Four 72–80UCLA, Louisville Move to NCAA Title Game https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1980/03/23/ucla-louisville-move-to-ncaa-title-game/75f52b44-a6ff-43ef-8de7-888e72855448/ The Washington Post March 23, 1980 July 11, 2020 Arnold 20 Boyle 7 Tied 5 16,637 23–9 March 24, 1980 yes yes 5 E Purdue 6 ME 18 Market Square Arena Indianapolis, IN Third Place game 58–75 Arnold 19 Tied 7 Tied 3 16,637 23–10 Central Time E East, MW=Midwest, ME-Mideast Rankings 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings Team players in the 1980 NBA draft 1980 NBA draft Iowa Hawkeyes Round Pick Player NBA club 1 10 Ronnie Lester Portland Trail Blazers https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1980.html 1980 NBA Draft Basketball-reference.com January 15, 2016 References Iowa Category:Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Iowa Hawkeyes Hawkeyes