# 1979–80 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Lynn Nance, who was in his fourth and final season with the Cyclones. They played their home games at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Nance resigned on January 29, 1980. Assistants Rick Samuels and Reggie Warford took over for the remainder of the season.
They finished the season 11–16, 5–9 in Big Eight play to finish in seventh place. The Cyclones lost in the first round of the Big Eight tournament to Kansas State, falling 101–87.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 30, 1979* 7:35 pm | | St. Cloud State | W 93–71 | 1–0 | Hilton Coliseum (6,800) Ames, Iowa |
| December 3, 1979* 7:00 pm | | at No. 5 Notre Dame | L 77–87 | 1–1 | Athletic & Convocation Center (11,345) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| December 5, 1979* 7:35 pm | | Missouri-Kansas City | W 121–82 | 2–1 | Hilton Coliseum (6,500) Ames, Iowa |
| December 8, 1979* 7:35 pm | | at Drake Iowa Big Four | L 66–87 | 2–2 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium (12,100) Des Moines, Iowa |
| December 10, 1979* 7:35 pm | | Roosevelt | W 125–60 | 3–2 | Hilton Coliseum (5,000) Ames, Iowa |
| December 15, 1979* 7:35 pm, WOI/KWWL | | No. 17 Iowa CyHawk Rivalry | L 64–67 | 3–3 | Hilton Coliseum (14,000) Ames, Iowa |
| December 18, 1979* 7:35 pm | | Mississippi State | L 63–84 | 3–4 | Hilton Coliseum (6,000) Ames, Iowa |
| December 20, 1979* 7:35 pm | | Eastern Montana (MSU-Billings) | W 76–73 | 4–4 | Hilton Coliseum (3,500) Ames, Iowa |
| December 22, 1979* 7:35 pm | | Nebraska-Omaha | L 68–69 $^{OT}$ | 4–5 | Hilton Coliseum (3,500) Ames, Iowa |
| December 26, 1979* 8:00 pm | | vs. Florida Gator Bowl Classic Semifinals | L 59–63 | 4–6 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (8,635) Jacksonville, Florida |
| December 27, 1979* 6:15 pm | | vs. William & Mary Gator Bowl Classic Consolation | W 56–55 | 5–6 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (9,481) Jacksonville, Florida |
| January 3, 1980* 7:30 pm | | MacMurray | W 88–58 | 6–6 | Hilton Coliseum (3,100) Ames, Iowa |
| January 9, 1980 7:35 pm | | Nebraska | L 50–58 | 6–7 (0–1) | Hilton Coliseum (6,827) Ames, Iowa |
| January 12, 1980 7:35 pm | | Kansas | W 67–66 | 7–7 (1–1) | Hilton Coliseum (9,535) Ames, Iowa |
| January 16, 1980 8:05 pm | | at No. 15 Missouri | L 70–85 | 7–8 (1–2) | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| January 19, 1980 12:40 pm, Big Eight | | Oklahoma | L 78–93 | 7–9 (1–3) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 23, 1980 7:35 pm | | at Kansas State | L 63–73 | 7–10 (1–4) | Ahearn Fieldhouse Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 26, 1980 2:38 pm, Big Eight | | Oklahoma State | W 69–60 | 8–10 (2–4) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 30, 1980 8:35 pm | | at Colorado | L 68–78 | 8–11 (2–5) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| February 2, 1980 7:35 pm | | at Kansas | L 61–72 | 8–12 (2–6) | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 6, 1980 7:35 pm | | No. 15 Missouri | L 70–84 | 8–13 (2–7) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 9, 1980 7:35 pm | | at Nebraska | L 66–69 | 8–14 (2–8) | Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| February 13, 1980 7:35 pm | | No. 19 Kansas State | W 66–58 | 9–14 (3–8) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 16, 1980 4:05 pm | | at Oklahoma | W 66–61 | 10–14 (4–8) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| February 19, 1980 7:35 pm | | at Oklahoma State | L 67–69 | 10–15 (4–9) | Gallagher Hall (4,700) Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| February 23, 1980 7:35 pm | | Colorado | W 66–65 | 11–15 (5–9) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| Big Eight tournament ||||||
| February 26, 1980 7:35 pm | (7) | at (2) Kansas State Big Eight tournament quarterfinals | L 87–101 | 11–16 | Ahearn Fieldhouse Manhattan, Kansas |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||