# 1980–81 BYU Cougars men's basketball team

The 1980–81 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University in the 1980–81 college basketball season. This was head coach Frank Arnold's sixth season at BYU. The Cougars played their home games at the Marriott Center and reached the Elite Eight, where they fell to Virginia.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1980* | No. 18 | at Washington | W 80–70 | 1–0 | Hec Edmundson Pavilion (8,059) Seattle, Washington |
| Nov 29, 1980* | No. 18 | at No. 7 Oregon State | L 68–75 | 1–1 | Gill Coliseum (10,000) Corvallis, Oregon |
| Dec 6, 1980* | No. 19 | at Utah State | W 82–79 | 2–1 | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,291) Logan, Utah |
| Dec 12, 1980* | No. 19 | North Texas | W 108–92 | 3–1 | Marriott Center (21,758) Provo, Utah |
| Dec 13, 1980* | No. 19 | Saint Mary's | W 95–76 | 4–1 | Marriott Center (21,583) Provo, Utah |
| Dec 16, 1980* | No. 18 | Michigan State | W 82–50 | 5–1 | Marriott Center (20,703) Provo, Utah |
| Dec 19, 1980* | No. 18 | vs. No. 17 Illinois | W 80–75 | 6–1 | Stokely Athletic Center (11,905) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 20, 1980* | No. 18 | at Tennessee | L 65–81 | 6–2 | Stokely Athletic Center (12,700) Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 23, 1980* | No. 20 | at Weber State | W 85–78 | 7–2 | Dee Events Center (10,118) Ogden, Utah |
| Dec 27, 1980* | No. 20 | Utah State | W 104–89 | 8–2 | Marriott Center (23,037) Provo, Utah |
| Jan 2, 1981 | No. 19 | at Air Force | W 77–65 | 9–2 (1–0) | Clune Arena (5,600) Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Jan 3, 1981* | No. 19 | at UNLV | W 92–90 | 10–2 | Las Vegas Convention Center (6,393) Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 8, 1981 | No. 17 | San Diego State | W 84–73 | 11–2 (2–0) | Marriott Center (22,718) Provo, Utah |
| Jan 10, 1981 | No. 17 | Hawaii | W 91–74 | 12–2 (3–0) | Marriott Center (22,873) Provo, Utah |
| Jan 15, 1981 | No. 15 | at New Mexico | W 92–87 | 13–2 (4–0) | University Arena (16,416) Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Jan 17, 1981 | No. 15 | at UTEP | L 62–64 | 13–3 (4–1) | Special Events Center (9,825) El Paso, Texas |
| Jan 23, 1981 | No. 18 | Colorado State | W 66–46 | 14–3 (5–1) | Marriott Center (22,697) Provo, Utah |
| Jan 24, 1981 | No. 18 | Wyoming | W 84–70 | 15–3 (6–1) | Marriott Center (22,983) Provo, Utah |
| Jan 31, 1981 | No. 15 | at No. 9 Utah | L 56–60 | 15–4 (6–2) | Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,281) Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Feb 6, 1981 | No. 16 | UNLV | W 86–77 | 16–4 | Marriott Center (22,841) Provo, Utah |
| Feb 7, 1981 | No. 16 | Air Force | W 62–51 | 17–4 (7–2) | Marriott Center (22,724) Provo, Utah |
| Feb 12, 1981 | No. 15 | at Hawaii | W 77–72 | 18–4 (8–2) | Neal S. Blaisdell Center (3,948) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Feb 14, 1981 | No. 15 | at San Diego State | L 72–73 | 18–5 (8–3) | San Diego Sports Arena (6,883) San Diego, California |
| Feb 19, 1981 | No. 17 | UTEP | W 84–75 | 19–5 (9–3) | Marriott Center (22,373) Provo, Utah |
| Feb 21, 1981 | No. 17 | New Mexico | W 78–72 | 20–5 (10–3) | Marriott Center (22,184) Provo, Utah |
| Feb 26, 1981 | No. 15 | at Wyoming | L 84–86 | 20–6 (10–4) | War Memorial Fieldhouse (9,300) Laramie, Wyoming |
| Feb 28, 1981 | No. 15 | at Colorado State | W 80–69 | 21–6 (11–4) | Moby Arena (5,107) Fort Collins, Colorado |
| Mar 7, 1981 | No. 18 | No. 9 Utah | W 95–76 | 22–6 (12–4) | Marriott Center (23,106) Provo, Utah |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1981* | (6 E) No. 16 | vs. (11 E) Princeton First round | W 60–51 | 23–6 | Providence Civic Center (8,273) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Mar 14, 1981* | (6 E) No. 16 | vs. (3 E) No. 10 UCLA Second Round | W 78–55 | 24–6 | Providence Civic Center (12,823) Providence, Rhode Island |
| Mar 19, 1981* | (6 E) No. 16 | vs. (2 E) No. 7 Notre Dame East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 51–50 | 25–6 | Omni Coliseum (15,461) Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 21, 1981* | (6 E) No. 16 | vs. (1 E) No. 5 Virginia East Regional final – Elite Eight | L 60–74 | 25–7 | Omni Coliseum (15,461) Atlanta, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Danny Ainge – WAC Player of the Year

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 31 | Danny Ainge | Boston Celtics |
    Source: