# 1979–80 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

The 1979–80 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1979–80 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Lute Olson and played their home games at the Iowa Field House. They finished with a 23–10 (10–8 Big Ten) record, and reached the Final Four of the NCAA tournament as champions of the East Region. To date, this is Iowa's most recent appearance in the NCAA Final Four in men's basketball.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| December 1, 1979* | | Northern Illinois | W 86–43 | 1–0 | 15 – Krafcisin | 8 – Krafcisin | 4 – Tied | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| December 3, 1979* | | Colorado State | W 113–66 | 2–0 | 19 – Krafcisin | 9 – Krafcisin | 9 – Arnold | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| December 6, 1979* | No. 20 | Northern Iowa | W 78–46 | 3–0 | 21 – Lester | 8 – Boyle | 7 – Hansen | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| December 8, 1979* | No. 20 | at Detroit | W 80–54 | 4–0 | 26 – Lester | 15 – Waite | 3 – Tied | Calihan Hall (6,123) Detroit, MI |
| December 11, 1979* | No. 17 | at Wichita State | W 81–62 | 5–0 | 23 – Lester | 9 – Arnold | 3 – Tied | Charles Koch Arena (10,535) Wichita, KS |
| December 15, 1979* | No. 17 | at Iowa State Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series | W 67–64 | 6–0 | 23 – Lester | 9 – Waite | 5 – Lester | Hilton Coliseum (14,000) Ames, IA |
| December 21, 1979* | No. 13 | vs. Mississippi State UD Invitational Tournament Semifinals | W 81–62 | 7–0 | 18 – Arnold | 11 – Waite | 8 – Arnold | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH |
| December 22, 1979* | No. 13 | at Dayton UD Invitational Tournament Finals | W 61–54 | 8–0 | 17 – Arnold | 8 – Krafcisin | 4 – Arnold | University of Dayton Arena (10,612) Dayton, OH |
| December 29, 1979* | No. 11 | Drake | W 77–66 | 9–0 | 20 – Brookins | 14 – Brookins | 6 – Boyle | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| January 3, 1980 | No. 10 | at No. 20 Illinois | W 72–71 | 10–0 (1–0) | 21 – Boyle | 7 – Tied | 4 – Boyle | Assembly Hall (10,839) Champaign, IL |
| January 5, 1980 | No. 10 | at Michigan | L 65–68 | 10–1 (1–1) | 25 – Brookins | 6 – Krafcisin | 3 – Tied | Crisler Arena (11,047) Ann Arbor, MI |
| January 10, 1980 | No. 12 | No. 3 Ohio State | L 71–77 | 10–2 (1–2) | 14 – Tied | 12 – Tied | 6 – Boyle | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| January 12, 1980 | No. 12 | Wisconsin | W 66–65 | 11–2 (2–2) | 15 – Krafcisin | 9 – Krafcisin | 4 – Tied | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| January 17, 1980 | No. 13 | at No. 19 Indiana | L 69–81 | 11–3 (2–3) | 16 – Krafcisin | 10 – Krafcisin | 5 – Tied | Assembly Hall (17,136) Bloomington, IN |
| January 19, 1980 | No. 13 | at Michigan State | L 67–75 | 11–4 (2–4) | 16 – Tied | 10 – Krafcisin | 6 – Arnold | Jenison Fieldhouse (10,004) East Lansing, MI |
| January 24, 1980 | | Northwestern | W 86–64 | 12–4 (3–4) | 24 – Boyle | 10 – Krafcisin | 7 – Arnold | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| January 26, 1980 | | Minnesota | W 80–73 | 13–4 (4–4) | 27 – Arnold | 10 – Waite | 7 – Boyle | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| January 31, 1980 | | at No. 17 Purdue | L 56–70 | 13–5 (4–5) | 17 – Krafcisin | 10 – Krafcisin | 3 – Hansen | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| February 2, 1980 | | at Minnesota | W 73–63 | 14–5 (5–5) | 19 – Arnold | 9 – Krafcisin | 4 – Arnold | Williams Arena (17,506) Minneapolis, MN |
| February 7, 1980 | | Michigan State | W 44–39 $^{OT}$ | 15–5 (6–5) | 20 – Krafcisin | 6 – Waite | 6 – Arnold | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| February 9, 1980 | | No. 12 Purdue | W 74–59 | 16–5 (7–5) | 20 – Arnold | 12 – Boyle | 6 – Arnold | Iowa Field House (13,366) Iowa City, IA |
| February 14, 1980 | No. 20 | Indiana | L 55–66 | 16–6 (7–6) | 13 – Hansen | 8 – Tied | 7 – Arnold | Iowa Field House (13,366) Iowa City, IA |
| February 16, 1980 | No. 20 | at Northwestern | W 60–58 | 17–6 (8–6) | 15 – Boyle | 8 – Krafcisin | 4 – Arnold | Welsh–Ryan Arena (6,679) Evanston, IL |
| February 21, 1980 | No. 12 | at Wisconsin | L 58–62 | 17–7 (8–7) | 23 – Krafcisin | 5 – Krafcisin | 5 – Boyle | Wisconsin Field House (13,365) Madison, WI |
| February 23, 1980 | | at No. 11 Ohio State | L 69–70 | 17–8 (8–8) | 20 – Krafcisin | 11 – Waite | 6 – Hansen | St. John Arena (13,591) Columbus, OH |
| February 28, 1980 | | Michigan | W 83–67 | 18–8 (9–8) | 23 – Krafcisin | 9 – Krafcisin | 8 – Arnold | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| March 1, 1980 | | Illinois | W 75–71 | 19–8 (10–8) | 15 – Lester | 11 – Boyle | 5 – Tied | Iowa Field House (13,365) Iowa City, IA |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 6, 1980* | (5 E) | vs. (12 E) Virginia Commonwealth First round | W 86–72 | 20–8 | 23 – Arnold | 10 – Waite | 8 – Lester | Greensboro Memorial Coliseum (6,865) Greensboro, NC |
| March 8, 1980* | (5 E) | vs. (4 E) No. 19 North Carolina State Second Round | W 77–64 | 21–8 | 18 – Arnold | 7 – Boyle | 4 – Lester | Greensboro Memorial Coliseum (13,210) Greensboro, NC |
| March 14, 1980* | (5 E) | vs. (1 E) No. 3 Syracuse East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 88–77 | 22–8 | 21 – Brookins | 5 – Tied | 7 – Lester | The Spectrum (17,569) Philadelphia, PA |
| March 16, 1980* | (5 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 20 Georgetown East Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 81–80 | 23–8 | 22 – Brookins | 4 – Tied | 9 – Lester | The Spectrum (15,981) Philadelphia, PA |
| March 22, 1980* | (5 E) | vs. (2 MW) No. 4 Louisville National semifinal – Final Four | L 72–80 | 23–9 | 20 – Arnold | 7 – Boyle | 5 – Tied | Market Square Arena (16,637) Indianapolis, IN |
| March 24, 1980* | (5 E) | vs. (6 ME) No. 18 Purdue Third Place game | L 58–75 | 23–10 | 19 – Arnold | 7 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Market Square Arena (16,637) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East, MW=Midwest, ME-Mideast. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Team players in the 1980 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 10 | Ronnie Lester | Portland Trail Blazers |