# 1980–81 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University as a member of the Big Eight Conference in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jack Hartman and played their home games at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats finished second in the conference regular season standings and received a bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 8 seed in the West region. The Wildcats beat No. 9 seed San Francisco in the opening round, then upset No. 1 seed Oregon State and No. 4 seed Illinois to reach the regional final where they lost to North Carolina in Elite Eight, 82–68. Kansas State finished with a record of 24–9 (9–5 Big Eight).

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 29* | | Northern Iowa | W 72–54 | 1–0 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| December 1* | | South Dakota | W 83–50 | 2–0 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| December 6* | | at Arizona | W 55–53 | 3–0 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| December 8* | | at No. 15 Arizona State | L 61–84 | 3–1 | ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona |
| December 13* | | Wisconsin-Parkside | W 72–58 | 4–1 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| December 20* | | US International | W 76–45 | 5–1 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| December 23* | | No. 15 Indiana | L 44–51 | 5–2 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| December 27* | | vs. No. 17 Arkansas | W 47–46 | 6–2 | Kansas City, Mo |
| December 31* | | Fresno State | W 47–39 | 7–2 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 3* | | Louisville | W 64–47 | 8–2 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 6* | | Oklahoma City | W 97–79 | 9–2 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 10* | | Eastern Illinois | W 74–62 | 10–2 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 14 | | at Nebraska | L 49–59 | 10–3 (0–1) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| January 17 | | at Colorado | W 63–62 | 11–3 (1–1) | CU Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| January 21 | | Oklahoma State | L 83–90 | 11–4 (1–2) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 24 | | at Oklahoma | L 63–65 | 11–5 (1–3) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| January 28 | | No. 18 Kansas | W 54–43 | 12–5 (2–3) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 31 | | at Iowa State | W 75–62 | 13–5 (3–3) | Hilton Coliseum (11,238) Ames, Iowa |
| February 4 | | Missouri | W 75–65 | 14–5 (4–3) | Ahearn Field House (11,290) Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 7 | | Colorado | W 82–62 | 15–5 (5–3) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 11 | | at Oklahoma State | W 73–70 | 16–5 (6–3) | Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| February 14 | | Nebraska | W 66–49 | 17–5 (7–3) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 18 | | at Kansas | L 49–51 | 17–6 (7–4) | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 21 | | Oklahoma | W 108–71 | 18–6 (8–4) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 25 | | Iowa State | W 67–60 | 19–6 (9–4) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 28 | | at Missouri | L 43–46 | 19–7 (9–5) | Hearnes Center (12,906) Columbia, Missouri |
| Big 8 tournament ||||||
| March 3 | (2) | (7) Oklahoma Quarterfinals | W 75–56 | 20–7 (9–5) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| March 4 | (2) | vs. (6) Colorado Semifinals | W 64–61 | 21–7 (9–5) | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| March 5 | (2) | vs. (4) Kansas Championship | L 68–80 | 21–8 (9–5) | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 12 | (8 W) | vs. (9 W) San Francisco First round | W 64–60 | 22–8 (9–5) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| March 14 | (8 W) | vs. (1 W) No. 2 Oregon State Second round | W 50–48 | 23–8 (9–5) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| March 19 | (8 W) | vs. (4 W) No. 19 Illinois West Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 57–52 | 24–8 (9–5) | Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,450) Salt Lake City, Utah |
| March 21 | (8 W) | vs. (2 W) No. 6 North Carolina West Regional Final – Elite Eight | L 68–82 | 24–9 (9–5) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 9 | Rolando Blackman | Dallas Mavericks |