# 1980–81 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| November 29* | | North Dakota State | W 99–64 | 1–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| December 2* | | Florida State | W 79–66 | 2–0 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| December 5* | | vs. Loyola (IL) | W 100–83 | 3–0 | |
| December 17* | | Marquette | L 84–92 | 3–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| December 22* | | at Louisville | W 62–56 | 4–1 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| December 26* | | Yale | W 95–56 | 5–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| December 27* | | Texas Tech | W 72–56 | 6–1 | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| December 29* | | at USC | W 74–67 | 7–1 | L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| December 30* | | vs. North Carolina | W 76–60 | 8–1 | L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| January 8 | No. 19 | Wisconsin | W 76–60 | 9–1 (1–0) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| January 10 | No. 19 | No. 10 Michigan | L 67–68 | 9–2 (1–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| January 15 | No. 20 | at Michigan State | W 86–77 | 10–2 (2–1) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| January 17 | No. 20 | at Illinois | L 76–80 | 10–3 (2–2) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| January 22 | | Ohio State | L 63–76 | 10–4 (2–3) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| January 24 | | at No. 9 Iowa | W 60–48 | 11–4 (3–3) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| January 29 | No. 19 | Indiana | L 53–56 $^{OT}$ | 11–5 (3–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| January 31 | No. 19 | Northwestern | W 74–63 | 12–5 (4–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| February 5 | | at Purdue | L 59–74 | 12–6 (4–5) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| February 7 | | at Northwestern | W 68–62 | 13–6 (5–5) | Welsh–Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| February 12 | | Iowa | L 58–60 | 13–7 (5–6) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| February 14 | | Purdue | W 92–72 | 14–7 (6–6) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| February 19 | | at Ohio State | W 82–76 | 15–7 (7–6) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| February 21 | | at No. 16 Indiana | L 63–74 | 15–8 (7–7) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| February 26 | | No. 14 Illinois | W 76–59 | 16–8 (8–7) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| February 28 | | Michigan State | W 92–89 | 17–8 (9–7) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| March 5 | | at Michigan | L 67–83 | 17–9 (9–8) | Crisler Center Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| March 7 | | at Wisconsin | L 58–60 | 17–10 (9–9) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI |
| NIT ||||||
| March 11* | | Drake First Round | W 90–77 | 18–10 (9–9) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| March 16* | | at Connecticut Second Round | W 84–66 | 19–10 (9–9) | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, CT |
| March 19* | | West Virginia Quarterfinals | L 69–80 | 19–11 (9–9) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||