# 1980–81 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented University of Virginia and was a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

## Roster

    Source

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov. 28* | No. 8 | Bucknell | W 64–45 | 1–0 | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Nov. 29* | No. 8 | VCU | W 77–62 | 2–0 | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Dec. 3* | No. 7 | Randolph–Macon | W 83–52 | 3–0 | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Dec. 6* | No. 7 | at William & Mary | W 88–68 | 4–0 | William & Mary Hall (9,000) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| Dec. 12 | No. 6 | at Duke | W 91–79 | 5–0 (1–0) | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,000) Durham, North Carolina |
| Dec. 22* | No. 5 | Baltimore | W 103–62 | 6–0 | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Dec. 30* | No. 3 | at James Madison | W 53–52 | 7–0 | Godwin Hall (10,000) Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| Jan. 3* | No. 3 | vs. Virginia Tech | W 64–51 | 8–0 | Roanoke Civic Center (8,564) Roanoke, Virginia |
| Jan. 5* | No. 3 | at Delaware | W 88–69 | 9–0 | Delaware Field House (9,000) Newark, Delaware |
| Jan. 7 | No. 3 | NC State | W 63–55 | 10–0 (2–0) | University Hall (5,100) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan. 10 | No. 3 | No. 16 North Carolina | W 63–57 | 11–0 (3–0) | University Hall (10,056) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan. 14 | No. 2 | at No. 10 Maryland | W 66–64 | 12–0 (4–0) | Cole Field House (14,500) College Park, Maryland |
| Jan. 17 | No. 2 | at Georgia Tech | W 85–48 | 13–0 (5–0) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum (6,591) Atlanta |
| Jan. 19 | No. 2 | at No. 19 Clemson | W 74–59 | 14–0 (6–0) | Littlejohn Coliseum (12,500) Clemson, South Carolina |
| Jan. 21* | No. 2 | George Washington | W 86–56 | 15–0 | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan. 25* | No. 2 | Ohio State | W 89–73 | 16–0 | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan. 28 | No. 1 | No. 6 Wake Forest | W 83–73 | 17–0 (7–0) | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Jan. 31 | No. 1 | Duke | W 68–47 | 18–0 (8–0) | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb. 3 | No. 1 | at No. 11 North Carolina | W 80–79 $^{OT}$ | 19–0 (9–0) | Carmichael Arena (10,000) Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb. 5* | No. 1 | at Wagner | W 76–69 | 20–0 | Madison Square Garden (11,997) New York City |
| Feb. 11 | No. 1 | at NC State | W 51–46 | 21–0 (10–0) | Reynolds Coliseum (12,400) Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb. 14 | No. 1 | Clemson | W 73–58 | 22–0 (11–0) | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb. 16 | No. 1 | Georgia Tech | W 83–42 | 23–0 (12–0) | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb. 22* | No. 1 | vs. No. 11 Notre Dame | L 56–57 | 23–1 | Rosemont Horizon (16,546) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Feb. 25 | No. 3 | at No. 12 Wake Forest | L 66–73 $^{OT}$ | 23–2 (12–1) | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum (8,200) Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb. 28 | No. 3 | No. 17 Maryland | W 74–63 | 24–2 (13–1) | University Hall (9,000) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Mar. 5 | (1) No. 4 | vs. (8) Georgia Tech ACC Quarterfinals | W 76–47 | 25–2 | Capital Centre (19,035) Landover, Maryland |
| Mar. 6 | (1) No. 4 | vs. (4) No. 20 Maryland ACC Semifinals | L 62–85 | 25–3 | Capital Centre (19,035) Landover, Maryland |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar. 15* | (1 E) No. 5 | vs. (9 E) Villanova Second round | W 54–50 | 26–3 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Mar. 19* | (1 E) No. 5 | vs. (4 E) No. 15 Tennessee Sweet Sixteen | W 62–48 | 27–3 | Omni Coliseum Atlanta |
| Mar. 21* | (1 E) No. 5 | vs. (6 E) No. 16 BYU Elite Eight | W 74–60 | 28–3 | Omni Coliseum (15,461) Atlanta |
| Mar. 28 | (1 E) No. 5 | vs. (2 W) No. 6 North Carolina National Semifinal | L 65–78 | 28–4 | The Spectrum (18,276) Philadelphia |
| Mar. 30* 6:00 p.m. | (1 E) No. 5 | vs. (1 MW) No. 4 LSU Third-place game | W 78–74 | 29–4 | The Spectrum (18,276) Philadelphia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern time. ||||||
    Source:

## Awards and honors

* Ralph Sampson, Adolph Rupp Trophy
* Ralph Sampson, AP Player of the Year
* Ralph Sampson, Naismith College Player of the Year
* Ralph Sampson, USBWA College Player of the Year
* Ralph Sampson, UPI Player of the Year
* Ralph Sampson, Consensus 1st Team All-American
* Ralph Sampson, ACC Player of the Year
* Ralph Sampson, 1st Team All-ACC
* Jeff Lamp, Consensus 2nd Team All-American
* Jeff Lamp, 1st Team All-ACC

## NBA draft

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1981 | 1 | 15 | Jeff Lamp | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 1981 | 4 | 77 | Lee Raker | San Diego Clippers |
| 1981 | 7 | 159 | Lewis Latimore | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1982 | 4 | 77 | Jeff Jones | Indiana Pacers |
| 1983 | 1 | 1 | Ralph Sampson | Houston Rockets |
| 1983 | 3 | 68 | Craig Robinson | Boston Celtics |
| 1984 | 2 | 35 | Othell Wilson | Golden State Warriors |
    Source: