1980–81 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball none 1980–81 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers WKU Hilltoppers wordmark.png 150 Ohio Valley Conference OVC 21–8 12–2 Clem Haskins E. A. Diddle Arena OVC Tournament ChampionOhio Valley Conference Champion NCAA Tournament First Round The 1980–81 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were members of the Ohio Valley Conference and led by OVC Coach of the Year Clem Haskins, in his first season as head coach.Clem Haskins 1996 USA Men's Olympic Team Assistant Coach, Washington Post online, retrieved 5 May 2020 WKU won the OVC regular season and tournament championships and received the conference's automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.2019-2020 OVC Basketball Media Guide, retrieved 4 May 2020 Craig McCormick and Tony Wilson made the All-OVC Team, and Wilson and Percy White were selected to the OVC Tournament Team.2019-2020 WKU Basketball Media Guide retrieved 21 April 2020 Cultural relevance Haskins broke the color barrier this season at Western Kentucky, becoming the first African American head coach in school history. This came 16 years after he, and Dwight Smith, became the first African Americans to play Hilltopper basketball.Lowell H. Harrison Western Kentucky University https://books.google.com/books?id=zL4eBgAAQBAJ&q=gene+keady+leaves+wku+for+purdue&pg=PA276 1987 University Press of Kentucky 978-0813116204 Schedule 1980-81 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Schedule and Results, Sports Reference, retrieved 4 May 2020 1980-81 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings 1981 |- !colspan=6| Regular season 11/28/1980 yes South Carolina E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY Wendy’s Classic 73–69 1–0 |- 11/29/1980 yes Vanderbilt E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY Wendy’s Classic 76–78 1–1 12/1/1980 yes Alabama–Huntsville E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 83–73 2–1 12/4/1980 yes yes Texas Tech Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, TX 58–68 2–2 12/6/1980 yes yes Rice Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX 76–63 3–2 12/9/1980 yes yes Dayton UD Arena Dayton, OH 70–74 3–3 12/13/1980 yes Evansville E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 70–73 4–3 12/29/1980 yes yes Saint Louis Hartford Civic Center Hartford, CT Connecticut Mutual Classic 57–54 5–3 12/30/1980 yes Connecticut Hartford Civic Center Hartford, CT Connecticut Mutual Classic 58–84 5–4 1/3/1981 yes District of Columbia E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 86–84 3OT 6–4 1/5/1981 yes Akron James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH 68–62 7–4 (1-0) 1/10/1981 yes Tennessee Tech Eblen Center Cookeville, TN 65–51 8–4 (2-0) 1/15/1981 yes Murray State Racer Arena Murray, KY 57–59 OT 8–5 (2-1) 1/17/1981 Austin Peay E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 70–58 9–5 (3-1) 1/22/1981 Middle Tennessee E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 67–55 10–5 (4-1) 1/24/1981 Morehead State E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 75–68 11–5 (5-1) 1/29/1981 yes Eastern Kentucky Alumni Coliseum Richmond, KY 84–80 12–5 (6-1) 1/31/1981 yes Morehead State Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, KY 77–65 13–5 (7-1) 2/5/1981 Akron E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 83–61 14–5 (8-1) 2/7/1981 Tennessee Tech E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 72–59 15–5 (9-1) 2/12/1981 yes Austin Peay Dunn Center Clarksville, TN 62–59 16–5 (10-1) 2/14/1981 Murray State E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 66–44 17–5 (11-1) 2/19/1981 yes Middle Tennessee Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN 54–62 17–6 (11-2) 2/21/1981 Eastern Kentucky E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 78–62 18–6 (12-2) 2/27/1982 yes Northern Iowa E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY 69–64 19–6 2/28/1981 yes yes Louisville 20 Freedom Hall Louisville, KY 75–90 19–7 |- !colspan=6| 1981 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament 3/6/1981 1 Austin Peay 4 E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY Semifinals 82–71 20–7 3/7/1981 1 Murray State 2 E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY Championship 71–67 21–7 |- !colspan=6| 1981 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament 3/13/1981 yes yes 10 ME UAB 7 ME Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL First Round 68–93 21–8 AP Poll References Category:Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball seasons Western Kentucky Western Kentucky Western Kentucky Basketball, Men's Western Kentucky Basketball, Men's Category:Long stubs with short prose