# 1980–81 Utah Utes men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Utah Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah in the 1980-81 season. Head coach Jerry Pimm, and Senior stars Tom Chambers and Danny Vranes would lead the Utes to a Western Athletic Conference championship and the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. In the best season the Utes would have under Pimm, the team finished with an overall record of 25–5 (13–3 WAC). Vranes and Chambers were both selected in the top 8 picks of the NBA Draft. Chambers, drafted by the San Diego (Now Los Angeles) Clippers, would go on to play for several NBA teams in his career, most notably the Phoenix Suns, with whom he would make an appearance in the 1993 NBA Finals; and the Utah Jazz.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 6, 1980* | | Weber State | W 76–61 | 1–0 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Dec 9, 1980* | | at Utah State | W 83–81 | 2–0 | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, Utah |
| Dec 12, 1980* | | Oklahoma State | W 89–73 | 3–0 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Dec 13, 1980* | | Nebraska | W 57–55 | 4–0 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Dec 16, 1980* | | Utah State | W 99–74 | 5–0 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Dec 20, 1980* | | at No. 20 Louisville | W 78–59 | 6–0 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Dec 26, 1980* | No. 19 | vs. Drake Far West Classic | L 68–69 | 6–1 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 27, 1980* | No. 19 | vs. Cal State Fullerton Far West Classic | W 76–70 | 7–1 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 28, 1980* | No. 19 | vs. Northwestern Far West Classic | W 73–63 | 8–1 | Memorial Coliseum Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 2, 1981* | No. 20 | at UNLV | W 76–75 | 9–1 | Las Vegas Convention Center Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 3, 1981 | No. 20 | at Air Force | W 74–60 | 10–1 (1–0) | Clune Arena Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Jan 8, 1981 | No. 18 | Hawaii | W 100–87 | 11–1 (2–0) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jan 10, 1981 | No. 18 | San Diego State | W 97–74 | 12–1 (3–0) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jan 15, 1981 | No. 16 | at UTEP | W 69–64 | 13–1 (4–0) | Special Events Center El Paso, Texas |
| Jan 17, 1981 | No. 16 | at New Mexico | W 82–76 | 14–1 (5–0) | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Jan 23, 1981 | No. 14 | Wyoming | W 55–53 | 15–1 (6–0) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jan 24, 1981 | No. 14 | Colorado State | W 86–56 | 16–1 (7–0) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jan 31, 1981 | No. 9 | No. 15 BYU | W 60–56 | 17–1 (8–0) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Feb 6, 1981 | No. 7 | Air Force | W 48–46 | 18–1 (9–0) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Feb 7, 1981 | No. 7 | UNLV | W 95–83 | 20–1 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Feb 12, 1981 | No. 6 | at San Diego State | W 62–53 | 21–1 (10–0) | San Diego Sports Arena San Diego, California |
| Feb 14, 1981 | No. 6 | at Hawaii | L 74–83 | 21–2 (10–1) | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Feb 19, 1981 | No. 9 | New Mexico | W 90–73 | 22–2 (11–1) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Feb 21, 1981 | No. 9 | UTEP | W 69–59 | 23–2 (12–1) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Feb 26, 1981 | No. 7 | at Colorado State | W 73–50 | 24–2 (13–1) | Moby Arena Fort Collins, Colorado |
| Feb 28, 1981 | No. 7 | at Wyoming | L 50–53 | 24–3 (13–2) | War Memorial Fieldhouse Laramie, Wyoming |
| Mar 7, 1981 | No. 9 | at No. 18 BYU | L 76–95 | 24–4 (13–3) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 1981* | (3 W) No. 14 | vs. (11 W) Northeastern Second Round | W 94–69 | 25–4 | Special Events Center El Paso, Texas |
| Mar 19, 1981* | (3 W) No. 14 | vs. (2 W) No. 6 North Carolina Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 56–61 | 25–5 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. ||||||

### NCAA tournament

3/15/1981, second round Vs. Northeastern @ Don Haskins Center, El Paso, TX - W, 94-69 3/19/1981, Sweet Sixteen Vs. North Carolina @ Special Events Center, Salt Lake City, UT - L, 56-61

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 5 | Danny Vranes | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 1 | 8 | Tom Chambers | San Diego Clippers |
    Source: