# 1980–81 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

The 1980–81 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Gene Bartow's third season at UAB, and the Blazers played their home games at BJCC Coliseum. They finished the season 23–9, 9–3 in Sun Belt play and fell in the championship game of the Sun Belt tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 7 seed in the Mideast region. After beating No. 10 seed Western Kentucky in the opening round, UAB upset No. 2 seed Kentucky to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The Blazers fell to No. 3 seed and eventual National champion Indiana in the Mideast regional semifinal, 87–72.
This season marked Coach Bartow's first trip (of nine total) to the NCAA tournament as coach of the Blazers, and started a string of seven consecutive bids to the "Big Dance."

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 29, 1980* | | MacMurray | W 96–56 | 1–0 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (4,628) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 3, 1980* | | Butler | W 87–58 | 2–0 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (4,568) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 6, 1980* | | at Ole Miss | L 72–83 | 2–1 | Tad Smith Coliseum (3,928) Oxford, Mississippi |
| Dec 8, 1980* | | UT Arlington | W 67–54 | 3–1 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (4,295) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 11, 1980* | | Roosevelt | W 112–55 | 4–1 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (3,649) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 13, 1980* | | at Pittsburgh | W 70–58 | 5–1 | Fitzgerald Field House (3,885) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 16, 1980* | | Missouri Western | W 107–54 | 6–1 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (4,298) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 19, 1980* | | vs. Idaho State UKIT | W 68–55 | 7–1 | Rupp Arena (12,400) Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 20, 1980* | | at No. 2 Kentucky UKIT | L 53–61 | 7–2 | Rupp Arena (23,835) Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 23, 1980* | | at Iowa State | L 70–71 | 7–3 | Hilton Coliseum (6,129) Ames, Iowa |
| Dec 29, 1980* | | Rice UAB Classic | W 78–60 | 8–3 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (6,282) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 30, 1980* | | Southern Miss UAB Classic | W 60–55 $^{OT}$ | 9–3 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (8,078) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Jan 3, 1981 | | Jacksonville | W 73–55 | 10–3 (1–0) | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (7,195) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Jan 10, 1981 | | VCU | W 67–65 | 11–3 (2–0) | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (8,881) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Jan 17, 1981 | | at South Florida | L 77–79 | 11–4 (2–1) | USF Sun Dome (7,107) Tampa, Florida |
| Jan 24, 1981 | | at Jacksonville | W 76–64 | 12–4 (3–1) | Jacksonville Coliseum (3,805) Jacksonville, Florida |
| Jan 29, 1981 | | South Florida | W 70–53 | 13–4 (4–1) | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (8,059) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Jan 31, 1981 | | South Alabama | W 73–70 | 14–4 (5–1) | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,131) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Feb 2, 1981 | | at Georgia State | W 85–67 | 15–4 (6–1) | GSU Sports Arena (325) Atlanta, Georgia |
| Feb 5, 1981 | | Georgia State | W 89–64 | 16–4 (7–1) | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (5,813) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Feb 7, 1981* | | at No. 3 DePaul | L 66–77 | 16–5 | Allstate Arena (16,232) Rosemont, Illinois |
| Feb 12, 1981 | | at Charlotte | W 73–57 | 17–5 (8–1) | Belk Gymnasium (1,504) Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 15, 1981 | | at VCU | L 69–79 | 17–6 (8–2) | Richmond Coliseum (8,100) Richmond, Virginia |
| Feb 18, 1981 | | at South Alabama | L 57–77 | 17–7 (8–3) | Jaguar Gym (10,549) Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 22, 1981 | | Charlotte | W 80–64 | 18–7 (9–3) | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (7,129) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Feb 24, 1981* | | Samford | W 92–67 | 19–7 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (5,310) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Sun Belt tournament ||||||
| Feb 27, 1981* | (3) | vs. (6) Charlotte Quarterfinals | W 80–64 | 20–7 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (6,122) Jacksonville, Florida |
| Feb 28, 1981* | (3) | vs. (2) South Alabama Semifinals | W 86–59 | 21–7 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (5,271) Jacksonville, Florida |
| Mar 1, 1981* | (3) | vs. (1) VCU Championship game | L 61–62 $^{OT}$ | 21–8 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (3,873) Jacksonville, Florida |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1981* | (7 ME) | vs. (10 ME) Western Kentucky First round | W 93–68 | 22–8 | Memorial Coliseum (10,628) Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Mar 15, 1981* | (7 ME) | vs. (2 ME) No. 8 Kentucky Second round | W 69–62 | 23–8 | Memorial Coliseum (12,229) Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Mar 20, 1981* | (7 ME) | vs. (3 ME) No. 9 Indiana Mideast Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 72–87 | 23–9 | Assembly Hall (17,091) Bloomington, Indiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Gene Bartow – Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year