# 1980–81 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team represented Wichita State University in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the University of Wichita Field House. They were in their 36th season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and 75th season overall. They were led by head coach Gene Smithson in his third season at the school. They finished the season 26–7, 12–4 in Missouri Valley play to finish in first place. They received a bid to the 1981 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the regional finals before falling to LSU.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1980* | | Abilene Christian | W 101–60 | 1–0 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Dec 1, 1980* | | Hardin-Simmons | W 105–46 | 2–0 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Dec 5, 1980* | | McNeese State McDonald's Classic | W 91–66 | 3–0 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Dec 6, 1980* | | Colorado State McDonald's Classic | W 53–34 | 4–0 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Dec 8, 1980* | | Long Beach State | W 80–61 | 5–0 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Dec 13, 1980* | | Louisiana-Monroe | W 82–63 | 6–0 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Dec 17, 1980* | | Denver | W 93–60 | 7–0 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Dec 20, 1980* | | at Oral Roberts | W 83–61 | 8–0 | Mabee Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Dec 23, 1980* | | at Texas-Rio Grande Valley | L 82–83 | 8–1 | UTPA Fieldhouse Edinburg, Texas |
| Jan 3, 1981* | | Iona | W 77–46 | 9–1 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Jan 10, 1981 | | at Tulsa | L 84–91 | 9–2 (0–1) | Tulsa Convention Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Jan 12, 1981 | | West Texas A&M | W 100–85 | 10–2 (1–1) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Jan 15, 1981 | | New Mexico State | W 74–68 | 11–2 (2–1) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Jan 17, 1981 | | Southern Illinois | W 73–47 | 12–2 (3–1) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Jan 22, 1981 | | at Creighton | W 77–72 | 13–2 (4–1) | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Feb 7, 1981 | | Drake | W 79–67 | 17–2 (8–1) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Feb 9, 1981 | | at Southern Illinois | W 81–61 | 18–2 (9–1) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Feb 12, 1981 | | Bradley | W 87–65 | 19–2 (10–1) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Feb 16, 1981 | | Tulsa | L 72–74 | 19–3 (10–2) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Feb 19, 1981 | | at New Mexico State | L 60–82 | 19–4 (10–3) | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Feb 21, 1981 | | Creighton | W 83–70 | 20–4 (11–3) | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Feb 26, 1981 | | at Bradley | W 70–57 | 21–4 (12–3) | Robertson Memorial Field House Peoria, Illinois |
| Feb 28, 1981 | No. 19 | at Indiana State | L 72–75 | 21–5 (12–4) | Hulman Center Terre Haute, Indiana |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1981* | | Southern Illinois Quarterfinal | W 77–57 | 22–5 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Mar 6, 1981* | | Drake Semifinal | W 88–74 | 23–5 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Mar 7, 1981* | | Creighton Championship Game | L 64–70 | 23–6 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| 1981 NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1981* | (6 MW) | vs. (11 MW) Southern First round | W 95–70 | 24–6 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Mar 15, 1981* | (6 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 13 Iowa Second Round | W 60–56 | 25–6 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Mar 20, 1981* | (6 MW) | vs. (7 MW) Kansas Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 66–65 | 26–6 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Mar 22, 1981* | (6 MW) | vs. (1 MW) No. 4 Louisiana State Midwest Regional final – Elite Eight | L 85–96 | 26–7 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 16 | 14 | 19 | — | — |
| Coaches | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 20 | 19 | 15 | 18 | — | — |

## Awards and honors

* Antoine Carr – AP Honorable Mention All-American
* Cliff Levingston – AP Honorable Mention All-American