# 1980–81 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team

The 1980–81 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1980–81 college basketball season. Led by third-year head coach Don DeVoe, the team played their home games at the Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers finished with a record of 21–8 (12–6 SEC, 2nd) and received an at-large bid to the 1981 NCAA tournament as the 4 seed in the East region. After an opening round win over VCU, Tennessee was defeated by No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant Virginia, 62–48.
This was the third of five straight seasons of NCAA Tournament basketball for the Tennessee men's program. The Volunteers would not reach the Sweet Sixteen again until the 2000 NCAA tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 29, 1980* | | Rollins | W 94–58 | 1–0 | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 3, 1980 | | at Auburn | L 65–75 | 1–1 (0–1) | Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 6, 1980* | | Purdue | W 78–69 | 2–1 | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 9, 1980* | | Lafayette | W 72–42 | 3–1 | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 13, 1980* | | Colorado | W 87–69 | 4–1 | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 19, 1980* | | Iona | W 80–54 | 5–1 | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 20, 1980* | | No. 18 Brigham Young | W 81–65 | 6–1 | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Dec 28, 1980* | | vs. No. 11 Arizona State Sugar Bowl Tournament | W 69–53 | 7–1 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Dec 29, 1980* | | vs. Duke Sugar Bowl Tournament | W 90–69 | 8–1 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Jan 3, 1981 | No. 18 | at Alabama | W 70–69 | 9–1 (1–1) | Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 7, 1981 | No. 13 | Ole Miss | W 73–68 | 10–1 (2–1) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 10, 1981 | No. 13 | at No. 4 Kentucky | L 47–48 | 10–2 (2–2) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 14, 1981 | No. 13 | Florida | W 78–64 | 11–2 (3–2) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 17, 1981 | No. 11 | at Vanderbilt | W 72–66 | 12–2 (4–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 21, 1981 | No. 11 | Mississippi State | W 81–57 | 13–2 (5–2) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 24, 1981 | No. 8 | at No. 5 LSU | L 63–80 | 13–3 (5–3) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 28, 1981 | No. 8 | Georgia | W 72–67 | 14–3 (6–3) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 31, 1981 | No. 11 | Alabama | W 62–58 | 15–3 (7–3) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 4, 1981 | No. 11 | at Ole Miss | L 52–71 | 15–4 (7–4) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Feb 7, 1981 | No. 10 | No. 6 Kentucky | W 87–71 | 16–4 (8–4) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 11, 1981 | No. 10 | at Florida | W 53–52 | 17–4 (9–4) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 14, 1981 | No. 9 | Vanderbilt | W 79–72 | 18–4 (10–4) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 18, 1981 | No. 9 | at Mississippi State | W 73–70 | 19–4 (11–4) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 21, 1981 | No. 8 | No. 4 LSU | L 65–66 | 19–5 (11–5) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 25, 1981 | No. 8 | at Georgia | L 75–76 | 19–6 (11–6) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Feb 28, 1981 | No. 10 | Auburn | W 75–63 | 20–6 (12–6) | Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1981* TVS | No. 10 | vs. Ole Miss Quarterfinals | L 71–81 | 20–7 | BJCC Coliseum Birmingham, Alabama |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 1981* | (4 E) No. 15 | vs. (5 E) VCU Second round | W 58–56 $^{OT}$ | 21–7 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Mar 19, 1981* | (4 E) No. 15 | vs. (1 E) No. 5 Virginia East Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 48–62 | 21–8 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 27 | Howard Wood | Utah Jazz |