# 1980–81 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team represented the University of Iowa as members of the Big Ten Conference. The team was led by head coach Lute Olson, coaching in his 7th season at the school, and played their home games at the Iowa Field House. They finished the season 21–7 overall and 13–5 in Big Ten play. The Hawkeyes received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as #3 seed in the Midwest Regional, but fell 60–56 to #6 seed Wichita State in the Round of 32 – a game played on the Shockers' home floor.

## Schedule/results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 29, 1980* | No. 14 | at Northern Illinois | W 61–47 | 1–0 | Chick Evans Field House DeKalb, Illinois |
| Dec 1, 1980* | No. 12 | Detroit | W 98–55 | 2–0 | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Dec 5, 1980* | No. 12 | vs. Cincinnati | W 69–64 | 3–0 | ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona |
| Dec 6, 1980* | No. 12 | at Arizona State | L 88–96 | 3–1 | ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona |
| Dec 9, 1980* | No. 16 | Nevada | W 112–71 | 4–1 | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Dec 13, 1980* | No. 16 | at Drake "Big Four" | W 90–68 | 5–1 | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Dec 20, 1980* | No. 16 | Iowa State Rivalry | W 85–59 | 6–1 | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| Dec 30, 1980* | No. 14 | Northern Iowa "Big Four" | W 86–52 | 7–1 | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Big Ten Regular Season ||||||
| Jan 8, 1981 | No. 11 | Ohio State | L 56–58 | 7–2 (0–1) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Jan 10, 1981 | No. 11 | Michigan State | W 65–57 | 8–2 (1–1) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Jan 15, 1981 | No. 14 | at Wisconsin | W 76–66 | 9–2 (2–1) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| Jan 17, 1981 | No. 14 | at No. 9 Michigan | W 73–58 | 10–2 (3–1) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 22, 1981 | No. 9 | at Indiana | W 56–53 | 11–2 (4–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 24, 1981* | No. 9 | Minnesota | L 48–60 | 11–3 (4–2) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Jan 29, 1981 | No. 13 | Purdue | W 84–67 | 12–3 (5–2) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Jan 31, 1981 | No. 13 | at Illinois Rivalry | L 66–79 | 13–4 (5–3) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| Feb 5, 1981 | No. 15 | at Northwestern | W 76–65 | 14–4 (6–3) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| Feb 7, 1981 | No. 15 | No. 18 Illinois Rivalry | W 72–66 | 15–4 (7–3) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Feb 12, 1981 | No. 14 | at Minnesota | W 60–58 | 16–4 (8–3) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Feb 14, 1981 | No. 14 | Northwestern | W 82–64 | 17–4 (9–3) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Feb 19, 1981 | No. 12 | No. 16 Indiana | W 78–65 | 18–4 (10–3) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, IA |
| Feb 21, 1981 | No. 12 | at Purdue | W 67–62 | 19–4 (11–3) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Feb 26, 1981 | No. 8 | Michigan | W 69–66 | 20–4 (12–3) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Feb 28, 1981 | No. 8 | Wisconsin | W 96–75 | 21–4 (13–3) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| Mar 5, 1981 | No. 8 | at Michigan State | L 70–71 | 21–5 (13–4) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| Mar 7, 1981 | No. 8 | at Ohio State | L 70–78 | 21–6 (13–5) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 3/15/1981* | (3 MW) No. 13 | at (6 MW) Wichita State Second Round | L 56–60 | 21–7 | Levitt Arena Wichita, KS |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||