# 1980–81 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1980–81 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Larry Brown was the head coach, and the Bruins started the season ranked 6th in the nation (AP Poll). The Bruins started the season 6-0 and was ranked a season high #3 (AP Poll). They then lost at #1 ranked Depaul, 93–77, on December 27. UCLA's team finished 3rd in the Pac-10 regular season. UCLA participated the NCAA Tournament but was upset by BYU in the first round, finishing 10th in the AP poll. Larry Brown coached his second and final year at UCLA.

## Starting lineup

| Position | Player | Class |
| F | Mike Sanders | Jr. |
| F | Darren Daye | So. |
| C | Kenny Fields | Fr. |
| G | Michael Holton | So. |
| G | Rod Foster | So. |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 28, 1980 | No. 6 | VMI | W 99–61 | 1–0 | Pauley Pavilion (9,872) Los Angeles, CA |
| November 29, 1980 | No. 6 | No. 10 Notre Dame | W 94–81 | 2–0 | Pauley Pavilion (12,321) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 6, 1980 | No. 3 | St. Mary's | W 113–70 | 3–0 | Pauley Pavilion (10,127) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 13, 1980 | No. 3 | Pepperdine | W 81–63 | 4–0 | Pauley Pavilion (12,273) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 15, 1980 | No. 3 | Evansville | W 69–62 | 5–0 | Pauley Pavilion (8,637) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 21, 1980 | No. 3 | vs. Temple | W 73–49 | 6–0 | Yoyogi National Gymnasium (5,000) Tokyo, Japan |
| December 27, 1980 | No. 3 | at No. 1 DePaul | L 77–93 | 6–1 | Alumni Hall (16,702) Chicago, IL |
| January 3, 1981 | No. 7 | Washington | W 96–74 | 7–1 (1–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,295) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 5, 1981 | No. 7 | Washington State | W 87–61 | 8–1 (2–0) | Pauley Pavilion (11,321) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 10, 1981 | No. 7 | USC | L 66–68 | 8–2 (2–1) | Pauley Pavilion (11,825) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 16, 1981 | No. 8 | at No. 12 Arizona State | L 74–78 $^{3OT}$ | 8–3 (2–2) | ASU Activity Center (14,384) Tempe, AZ |
| January 17, 1981 | No. 8 | at Arizona | W 79–76 | 9–3 (3–2) | McKale Center (14,182) Tucson, AZ |
| January 23, 1981 | No. 12 | Stanford | W 85–58 | 10–3 (4–2) | Pauley Pavilion (12,038) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 24, 1981 | No. 12 | California | W 75–61 | 11–3 (5–2) | Pauley Pavilion (12,314) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 29, 1981 | No. 10 | at No. 1 Oregon State | L 67–81 | 11–4 (5–3) | Gill Coliseum (10,000) Corvallis, OR |
| January 31, 1981 | No. 10 | at Oregon | W 75–69 | 12–4 (6–3) | McArthur Court (10,000) Eugene, OR |
| February 6, 1981 | No. 12 | at USC | W 76–62 | 13–4 (7–3) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (13,277) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 8, 1981 | No. 12 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | W 51–50 | 14–4 | Athletic & Convocation Center (11,345) Notre Dame, IN |
| February 12, 1981 | No. 8 | Arizona | W 90–79 | 15–4 (8–3) | Pauley Pavilion (11,910) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 14, 1981 | No. 8 | No. 5 Arizona State | W 64–61 | 16–4 (9–3) | Pauley Pavilion (12,428) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 19, 1981 | No. 6 | at California | W 72–66 | 17–4 (10–3) | Harmon Gym (6,700) Berkeley, CA |
| February 21, 1981 | No. 6 | at Stanford | L 72–74 | 17–5 (10–4) | Maples Pavilion (6,917) Stanford, CA |
| February 27, 1981 | No. 13 | Oregon | W 98–75 | 18–5 (11–4) | Pauley Pavilion (12,074) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 1, 1981 | No. 13 | No. 1 Oregon State | L 76–82 | 18–6 (11–5) | Pauley Pavilion (12,582) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 5, 1981 | No. 13 | at Washington State | W 59–50 | 19–6 (12–5) | Washington State University Performing Arts Coliseum (8,132) Pullman, WA |
| March 7, 1981 | No. 13 | at Washington | W 91–72 | 20–6 (13–5) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion (6,228) Seattle, WA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 14, 1981 | (3 E) No. 10 | vs. (6 E) No. 16 BYU Second Round | L 55–78 | 20–7 | Providence Civic Center (12,823) Providence, RI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
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