# 1980–81 Lamar Cardinals basketball team

    For information on all Lamar University sports, see Lamar Cardinals and Lady Cardinals
The 1980–81 Lamar Cardinals basketball team represented Lamar University during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by first-year head coach Pat Foster and played their home games at McDonald Gym in Beaumont, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals won the regular season conference championship and the 1981 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament. They received an automatic invitation to the 1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they defeated the Missouri Tigers in the first game and lost to LSU in the second game. Lamar finished the season with a record of 25–5. The Cardinals were ranked in the AP Poll for one week at number 19.

## Roster

Sources:

## Schedule and results

Sources:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| December 1, 1980* | | Stephen F. Austin | W 81–67 | 1–0 | Beaumont Civic Center (3,400) Beaumont, TX |
| December 3, 1980* | | Augsburg College | W 101–60 | 2–0 | Beaumont Civic Center (3,300) Beaumont, TX |
| December 5, 1980* | | vs. Pittsburgh Showme Classic | W 67–65 | 3–0 | Hearnes Center (9,993) Columbia, MO |
| December 6, 1980* | | at No. 17 Missouri Showme Classic | L 70–92 | 3–1 | Hearnes Center (10,048) Columbia, MO |
| December 10, 1980* | | Texas Southern | W 88–73 | 4–1 | Beaumont Civic Center (3,450) Beaumont, TX |
| December 13, 1980* | | Texas A&I | W 75–50 | 5–1 | Beaumont Civic Center (3,100) Beaumont, TX |
| December 17, 1980* | | at Oklahoma | W 80–79 | 6–1 | Lloyd Noble Center (4,593) Norman, OK |
| December 26, 1980* | | vs. Grambling State Copper State Classic | W 88–82 | 7–1 | McKale Center (8,308) Tucson, AZ |
| December 27, 1980* | | at Arizona Copper State Classic | W 63–61 | 8–1 | McKale Center (8,675) Tucson, AZ |
| January 2, 1981* | | at Stephen F. Austin | W 64–62 | 9–1 | William R. Johnson Coliseum (1,750) Nacogdoches, TX |
| January 7, 1981* | | Prairie View A&M | W 102–61 | 10–1 | Beaumont Civic Center (4,441) Beaumont, TX |
| January 15, 1981* | | Pan American | W 104–80 | 11–1 | Beaumont Civic Center (3,559) Beaumont, TX |
| January 17, 1981* | | at Houston | L 64–70 | 11–2 | Hofheinz Pavilion (10,100) Houston, TX |
| January 19, 1981* | | Southern | W 85–67 | 12–2 | Beaumont Civic Center (3,319) Beaumont, TX |
| January 21, 1981* | | Texas Lutheran | W 121–71 | 13–2 | Beaumont Civic Center (4,220) Beaumont, TX |
| January 24, 1981* | | at Pan American | W 78–70 | 14–2 | Pan American Fieldhouse (5,649) Edinburg, TX |
| Southland Conference regular season ||||||
| January 26, 1981 | | Louisiana Tech | W 66–64 | 15–2 (1–0) | Beaumont Civic Center (4,953) Beaumont, TX |
| January 31, 1981 | | Texas–Arlington | W 89–84 $^{OT}$ | 16–2 (2–0) | Texas Hall (4,316) Arlington, TX |
| February 2, 1981* | | at Arkansas State | W 62–51 | 17–2 (3–0) | Indian Fieldhouse (4,521) Jonesboro, AR |
| February 7, 1981 | | Southwestern Louisiana | W 87–74 | 18–2 (4–0) | Beaumont Civic Center (5,831) Beaumont, TX |
| February 9, 1981 | | at McNeese State | W 90–87 $^{OT}$ | 19–2 (5–0) | Lake Charles Civic Center (5,327) Lake Charles, LA |
| February 12, 1981 | | Texas–Arlington | W 79–75 | 20–2 (6–0) | Beaumont Civic Center (5,772) Beaumont, TX |
| February 16, 1981 | No. 19 | at Louisiana Tech | L 71–77 | 20–3 (6–1) | Memorial Gym (2,653) Ruston, LA |
| February 21, 1981 | No. 19 | Arkansas State | W 89–69 | 21–3 (7–1) | Beaumont Civic Center (5,232) Beaumont, TX |
| February 23, 1981 | | at Southwestern Louisiana | L 81–97 | 21–4 (7–2) | Blackham Coliseum (7,956) Lafayette, LA |
| February 28, 1981 | | McNeese State | W 87–76 | 22–4 (8–2) | Beaumont Civic Center (5,711) Beaumont, TX |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| March 4, 1981 | (1) | (4) Southwestern Louisiana Semifinal | W 83–68 | 23–4 | Beaumont Civic Center (4,905) Beaumont, TX |
| March 5, 1981 | (1) | (2) Louisiana Tech Championship | W 83–69 | 24–4 | Beaumont Civic Center (5,052) Beaumont, TX |
| NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament ||||||
| March 12, 1981 | (8 MW) | vs. (9 MW) Missouri Round of 48 | W 71–67 | 25–4 | Frank Erwin Center (6,475) Austin, TX |
| March 14, 1981 | (8 MW) | vs. (1 MW) LSU Round of 32 | L 78–100 | 25–5 | Frank Erwin Center (8,523) Austin, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||