# 1980–81 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team represented Purdue University during the 1980–81 college basketball season. The Boilermakers were led by first-year head coach Gene Keady and finished with an overall record of 21–11 (10–8 Big Ten).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 29, 1980* | Colorado State | W 72–59 | 1–0 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Dec 1, 1980* | Loyola Marymount | W 104–75 | 2–0 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Dec 6, 1980* | at Tennessee | L 69–78 | 2–1 | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 8, 1980* | at Butler | W 82–61 | 3–1 | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 11, 1980* | Oklahoma | W 101–86 | 4–1 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Dec 13, 1980* | at Providence | W 64–59 | 5–1 | Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island |
| Dec 22, 1980* | at Tulsa | L 76–90 | 5–2 | Tulsa Convention Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Dec 26, 1980* | vs. Georgia Tech | W 53–45 | 6–2 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Dec 27, 1980* | vs. Florida | W 95–87 | 7–2 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Big Ten Regular Season ||||||
| Jan 5, 1981 | No. 12 Michigan | W 81–74 | 8–2 (1–0) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Jan 10, 1981 | Ohio State | W 75–65 | 9–2 (2–0) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Jan 15, 1981 | at No. 18 Illinois | L 65–87 | 9–3 (2–1) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| Jan 17, 1981* | at Wisconsin | W 71–69 | 10–3 (3–1) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| Jan 22, 1981 | Northwestern | W 55–50 | 11–3 (4–1) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Jan 24, 1981 | Michigan State | L 68–74 | 11–4 (4–2) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Jan 29, 1981 | at No. 13 Iowa | L 67–84 | 11–5 (4–3) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Jan 31, 1981 | at Indiana | L 61–69 | 11–6 (4–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Feb 5, 1981 | Minnesota | W 74–59 | 12–6 (5–4) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Feb 7, 1981 | No. 17 Indiana | W 68–66 | 13–6 (6–4) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Feb 12, 1981 | at Michigan State | W 63–48 | 14–6 (7–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Feb 14, 1981 | at Minnesota | L 72–92 | 14–7 (7–5) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Feb 19, 1981 | at Northwestern | W 82–69 | 15–7 (8–5) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| Feb 21, 1981 | No. 12 Iowa | L 62–67 | 15–8 (8–6) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Feb 26, 1981 | Wisconsin | W 72–61 | 16–8 (9–6) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Feb 28, 1981 | No. 14 Illinois | L 70–81 | 16–9 (9–7) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Mar 5, 1981 | at Ohio State | L 92–93 | 16–10 (9–8) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Mar 7, 1981 | at Michigan | W 67–61 | 17–10 (10–8) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| National Invitation Tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1981* | Rhode Island First Round | W 84–58 | 18–10 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Mar 16, 1981* | Dayton Second Round | W 50–46 | 19–10 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Mar 20, 1981* | Duke Quarterfinal | W 81–69 | 20–10 | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Mar 23, 1981* | vs. Syracuse Semifinal | L 63–70 | 20–11 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Mar 25, 1981* | vs. West Virginia Third Place Game | W 75–72 $^{OT}$ | 21–11 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||