# 1980–81 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Jud Heathcote in his fifth year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished with a record of 13–14, 7–11 to finish in eighth place in Big Ten play.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 1979–80 season 12–15, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place in conference.

## Roster and statistics

1980–81 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team :
| No | Name | Pos | Year | Height | Pts | Reb | Ast |
| 5 | Kevin Smith | G | JR | 6–2 | 13.5 | 2.3 | 4.8 |
| 10 | Tim Gore | G | FR | 6–4 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 |
| 12 | Mike Brkovich | G | SR | 6–5 | 8.2 | 2.2 | 2.4 |
| 15 | Bob Fossum | G | FR | 5–9 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 20 | Ben Tower | F | FR | 6–8 | 5.0 | 3.8 | 0.7 |
| 22 | Bill Cawood | G | SO | 6–7 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| 23 | Randy Morrison | G | FR | 6–2 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| 24 | Richard Mudd | F | FR | 6–9 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 |
| 30 | Kurt James | F | SR | 6–7 | | | |
| 31 | Jay Vincent | F/C | SR | 6–8 | 22.6 | 8.5 | 1.9 |
| 41 | Derek Perry | F | SO | 6–6 | 7.5 | 3.9 | 0.7 |
| 42 | Richard Kaye | F | SR | 6–6 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.4 |
| 44 | Herb Bostic | F/G | SO | 6–4 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| 45 | Kevin Radelet | G | JR | 5–11 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 45 | George Cooper | | | | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 |
| 52 | Steve Bates | C | JR | 6–10 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1980* | Western Michigan Spartan Cutlass Classic semifinal | W 89–77 | 1–0 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Nov 29, 1980* | Central Michigan Spartan Cutlass Classic championship | L 66–89 | 1–1 | Jenison Field House East Lansing |
| Dec 4, 1980* | at Long Beach State | W 71–60 | 2–1 | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA |
| Dec 6, 1980* | at Cal State Fullerton | W 58–42 | 3–1 | Titan Gym Fullerton, CA |
| Dec 12, 1980* | Eastern Michigan | W 73–63 | 4–1 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 16, 1980* | at BYU | L 50–82 | 4–2 | Marriott Center Provo, UT |
| Dec 19, 1980* | vs. Utah State Industrial National Classic semifinal | L 70–74 | 4–3 | Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI |
| Dec 20, 1980* | at Providence Industrial National Classic third place game | W 77–76 | 5–3 | Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI |
| Dec 27, 1980* | Saint Joseph's | W 71–67 | 6–3 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Jan 8, 1981 | at Indiana | L 43–55 | 6–4 (0–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 10, 1981 | at No. 11 Iowa | L 57–65 | 6–5 (0–2) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 15, 1981 | No. 20 Minnesota | L 77–86 | 6–6 (0–3) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 17, 1981 | Northwestern | W 84–70 | 7–6 (1–3) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 22, 1981 | at Wisconsin | L 62–63 | 7–7 (1–4) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI |
| Jan 24, 1981 | at Purdue | W 74–68 | 8–7 (2–4) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 29, 1981 | Illinois | L 70–71 | 8–8 (2–5) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 31, 1981 | Ohio State | W 60–54 | 9–8 (3–5) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 5, 1981 | at Michigan Rivalry | L 77–79 | 9–9 (3–6) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 7, 1981 | at Ohio State | L 62–73 | 9–10 (3–7) | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Feb 12, 1981 | Purdue | L 48–63 | 9–11 (3–8) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 14, 1981 | No. 13 Michigan Rivalry | W 70–66 | 10–11 (4–8) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 19, 1981 | Wisconsin | W 74–65 | 11–11 (5–8) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 21, 1981 | at No. 15 Illinois | L 62–82 | 11–12 (5–9) | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| Feb 26, 1981 | at Northwestern | W 74–61 | 12–12 (6–9) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL |
| Feb 28, 1981 | at Minnesota | L 89–92 | 12–13 (6–10) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Mar 5, 1981 | No. 8 Iowa | W 71–70 | 13–13 (7–10) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 7, 1981 | No. 14 Indiana | L 48–69 | 13–14 (7–11) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll,. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Jay Vincent – All-Big Ten First Team