# 1980–81 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in NCAA Division I competition in the 1980–81 season.
Houston, coached by Guy Lewis, played its home games in the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas, and was then a member of the Southwest Conference.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1980* | | Texas A&I | W 112–86 | 1–0 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 1, 1980* | | USC | W 71–54 | 2–0 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 6, 1980* | | at Biscayne | L 74–76 | 2–1 | Unknown Miami Gardens, Florida |
| Dec 9, 1980* | | Texas Wesleyan | W 93–84 | 3–1 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 13, 1980* | | Pan American | W 84–70 | 4–1 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 16, 1980* | | Pepperdine | W 94–81 | 5–1 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Dec 19, 1980* | | Army Kettle Classic | W 88–58 | 6–1 | Houston Astrodome Houston, Texas |
| Dec 20, 1980* | | Wyoming Kettle Classic | W 70–61 | 7–1 | Houston Astrodome Houston, Texas |
| Dec 23, 1980* | | at Nevada | W 86–71 | 8–1 | Centennial Coliseum Reno, Nevada |
| Dec 27, 1980* | | at Alaska Anchorage | L 78–79 | 8–2 | Unknown Anchorage, Alaska |
| Jan 3, 1981 | | at Rice | W 62–57 | 9–2 (1–0) | Rice Gymnasium Houston, Texas |
| Jan 6, 1981 | | Texas Tech | W 73–70 | 10–2 (2–0) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 10, 1981 | | at Texas | W 91–71 | 11–2 (3–0) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Jan 13, 1981 | | at SMU | L 70–72 $^{3OT}$ | 11–3 (3–1) | Moody Coliseum University Park, Texas |
| Jan 17, 1981* | | Lamar | W 70–64 | 12–3 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 19, 1981 | | Arkansas | W 57–54 | 13–3 (4–1) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 24, 1981 | | TCU | W 68–59 | 14–3 (5–1) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 26, 1981 | | at Baylor | W 53–51 | 15–3 (6–1) | Heart O' Texas Coliseum Waco, Texas |
| Jan 28, 1981 | | Texas A&M | W 76–71 | 16–3 (7–1) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 31, 1981 | | at Texas Tech | L 70–81 | 16–4 (7–2) | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| Feb 3, 1981 | | SMU | W 79–64 | 17–4 (8–2) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 7, 1981 | | Texas | W 75–59 | 18–4 (9–2) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 14, 1981 | | at Arkansas | L 55–70 | 18–5 (9–3) | Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Feb 17, 1981 | | at TCU | L 77–78 $^{4OT}$ | 18–6 (9–4) | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas |
| Feb 21, 1981 | | Baylor | L 68–70 | 18–7 (9–5) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 24, 1981 | | Rice | W 63–55 | 19–7 (10–5) | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Feb 28, 1981 | | at Texas A&M | L 77–78 | 19–8 (10–6) | G. Rollie White Coliseum College Station, Texas |
| SWC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1981* | (2) | vs. (8) TCU Semifinals | W 73–53 | 20–8 | HemisFair Arena San Antonio, Texas |
| Mar 7, 1981* | (2) | vs. (6) Texas Championship | W 84–59 | 21–8 | HemisFair Arena San Antonio, Texas |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1981* | (8 E) | vs. (9 E) Villanova First round | L 72–90 | 21–9 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time. ||||||