# 1980–81 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1980–81 college basketball season. The team was coached by Sonny Smith, who was in his third season.
Newcomers to the team this season included freshman signees Greg Turner, Mark Cahill, and Paul Daniels. The team lost captains Bubba Price and Rich Valavicius, who graduated.
The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 9–16, 4–14 in SEC play. They lost to Florida in the first round of the 1981 SEC Men's Basketball Tournament.

## Schedule and Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| December 1, 1980* | | Towson | W 87–63 | 1–0 | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| December 3, 1980 | | Tennessee | W 75–65 | 2–0 (1–0) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| December 8, 1980* | | Tennessee Tech | W 77–62 | 3–0 (1–0) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| December 17, 1980* | | Florida State | W 78–74 | 4–0 (1–0) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| December 20, 1980* | | Austin Peay | W 52–51 | 5–0 (1–0) | Dunn Center Clarksville, Tennessee |
| December 29, 1980* | | Air Force | L 46–48 $^{OT}$ | 5–1 (1–0) | John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio |
| December 30, 1980* | | Columbia | W 63–55 | 6–1 (1–0) | John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio |
| January 3, 1981 | | Ole Miss | L 45–46 | 6–2 (1–1) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| January 7, 1981 | | No. 4 Kentucky | L 66–79 | 6–3 (1–2) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| January 10, 1981 | | Florida | L 59–63 | 6–4 (1–3) | O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| January 14, 1981 | | Vanderbilt | L 81–97 | 6–5 (1–4) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| January 17, 1981 | | Mississippi State | L 61–69 | 6–6 (1–5) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| January 21, 1981 | | No. 5 LSU | L 64–74 | 6–7 (1–6) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| January 24, 1981 | | Georgia | L 63–67 | 6–8 (1–7) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| January 28, 1981 | | Alabama | L 73–83 | 6–9 (1–8) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| January 31, 1981 | | Ole Miss | L 58–61 | 6–10 (1–9) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| February 4, 1981 | | No. 6 Kentucky | L 74–102 | 6–11 (1–10) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| February 7, 1981 | | Florida | L 50–55 | 6–12 (1–11) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| February 11, 1981 | | Vanderbilt | W 69–55 | 7–12 (2–11) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| February 14, 1981 | | Mississippi State | W 66–55 | 8–12 (3–11) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| February 18, 1981 | | No. 4 LSU | L 47–58 | 8–13 (3–12) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| February 21, 1981 | | Georgia | L 65–76 | 8–14 (3–13) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| February 25, 1981 | | Alabama | W 56–54 | 9–14 (4–13) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| February 28, 1981 | | No. 10 Tennessee | L 63–75 | 9–15 (4–14) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| March 4, 1981 | (9) | (8) Florida First Round | L 48–50 | 9–16 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. ||||||