# 1981–82 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

The 1981–82 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Johnny Orr, who was in his 2nd season. They played their home games at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
They finished the season 10–17, 5–9 in Big Eight play to finish in sixth. The Cyclones lost in the first round of the Big Eight tournament to Oklahoma, falling 71–67.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 21, 1981* 6:00 pm | | Windsor (Canada) Exhibition | W 93–80 | – | Hilton Coliseum (3,112) Ames, Iowa |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 28, 1981* 9:00 pm | | at Eastern Montana (MSU-Billings) | L 55–66 | 0–1 | The Metra (1,692) Billings, Montana |
| December 2, 1981* 7:35 pm, Cyclone Basketball Network | | SMU | W 80–70 | 1–1 | Hilton Coliseum (8,112) Ames, Iowa |
| December 5, 1981* 7:35 pm | | South Dakota | W 100–78 | 2–1 | Hilton Coliseum (8,437) Ames, Iowa |
| December 8, 1981* 7:35 pm, Cyclone Basketball Network | | No. 6 Iowa CyHawk Rivalry | L 68–79 | 2–2 | Hilton Coliseum (14,038) Ames, Iowa |
| December 12, 1981* 7:35 pm, Cyclone Basketball Network | | at Texas | L 75–108 | 2–3 | Erwin Center (7,973) Austin, Texas |
| December 14, 1981* 7:35 pm | | at TCU | L 63–72 | 2–4 | Daniel Meyer Coliseum (2,572) Fort Worth, Texas |
| December 19, 1981* 7:35 pm, Heritage Cablevision | | at Drake Iowa Big Four | L 56–72 | 2–5 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (10,015) Des Moines, Iowa |
| December 26, 1981* 11:00 pm | | vs. Idaho Far West Classic Quarterfinal | L 68–88 | 2–6 | Memorial Coliseum (11,040) Portland, OR |
| December 28, 1981* 1:00 pm | | vs. Pittsburgh Far West Classic Consolation Semifinal | L 65–81 | 2–7 | Memorial Coliseum (3,356) Portland, OR |
| December 29, 1981* 3:00 pm | | vs. Wisconsin Far West Classic Consolation Seventh Place | W 103–79 | 3–7 | Memorial Coliseum (3,127) Portland, OR |
| January 6, 1982* 7:35 pm | | Northern Iowa Iowa Big Four | W 78–65 | 4–7 | Hilton Coliseum (7,526) Ames, Iowa |
| January 9, 1982* 7:35 pm | | Saint Louis | W 74–61 | 5–7 | Hilton Coliseum (3,284) Ames, Iowa |
| January 13, 1982 7:40 pm, KSHB | | at Kansas State | L 55–75 | 5–8 (0–1) | Ahearn Fieldhouse (11,220) Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 16, 1982 7:35 pm | | at Oklahoma | L 67–68 | 5–9 (0–2) | Lloyd Noble Center (5,542) Norman, Oklahoma |
| January 20, 1982 7:35 pm, Cyclone Basketball Network | | Colorado | W 62–58 | 6–9 (1–2) | Hilton Coliseum (7,136) Ames, Iowa |
| January 23, 1982 2:38 pm, Big Eight | | at Nebraska | L 47–60 | 6–10 (1–3) | Devaney Sports Center (9,223) Lincoln, Nebraska |
| January 27, 1982 7:35 pm, WOI | | No. 1 Missouri | L 73–86 | 6–11 (1–4) | Hilton Coliseum (11,428) Ames, Iowa |
| January 30, 1982 7:35 pm | | at Oklahoma State | L 60–69 | 6–12 (1–5) | Gallagher Hall (6,000) Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| February 3, 1982 7:30 pm, WOI/KSHB/USA | | Kansas | W 55–53 | 7–12 (2–5) | Hilton Coliseum (6,781) Ames, Iowa |
| February 6, 1982 12:10 pm, Big Eight (NBC) | | Oklahoma | L 69–85 | 7–13 (2–6) | Hilton Coliseum (7,579) Ames, Iowa |
| February 10, 1982 9:05 pm | | at Colorado | L 64–74 | 7–14 (2–7) | Coors Events Center (4,706) Boulder, Colorado |
| February 13, 1982 7:35 pm | | Kansas State | L 49–58 | 7–15 (2–8) | Hilton Coliseum (10,134) Ames, Iowa |
| February 16, 1982 8:08 pm, ESPN | | at No. 4 Missouri | L 71–100 | 7–16 (2–9) | Hearnes Center (10,368) Columbia, Missouri |
| February 20, 1982 7:35 pm | | Nebraska | W 63–61 | 8–16 (3–9) | Hilton Coliseum (9,202) Ames, Iowa |
| February 24, 1982 7:35 pm | | Oklahoma State | W 71–64 | 9–16 (4–9) | Hilton Coliseum (7,837) Ames, Iowa |
| February 27, 1982 1:05 pm | | at Kansas | W 63–61 | 10–16 (5–9) | Allen Fieldhouse (5,600) Lawrence, Kansas |
| Big Eight tournament ||||||
| March 2, 1982 7:35 pm | (6) | at (3) Oklahoma Big Eight tournament Quarterfinals | L 67–71 | 10–17 | Lloyd Noble Center (7,825) Norman, Oklahoma |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||