# 1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. Their head coach was Bobby Knight, who was in his 10th year. The team played its home games in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 26–9 and a conference record of 14–4, finishing 1st in the Big Ten Conference. As Big Ten Conference Champions, IU was invited to participate in the 1981 NCAA Tournament as a 3-seed; the Hoosiers advanced to the championship game where Bobby Knight and the Hoosiers won their fourth national title.

## Schedule/Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/29/1980* | No. 5 | Ball State | W 75–69 | 1–0 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/1/1980* | No. 5 | Murray State | W 59–41 | 2–0 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/6/1980* | No. 5 | No. 2 Kentucky Indiana–Kentucky rivalry | L 66–68 | 2–1 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/9/1980* | No. 7 | at No. 9 Notre Dame | L 64–68 | 2–2 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| 12/12/1980* | No. 7 | California Indiana Classic | W 94–58 | 3–2 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/13/1980* | No. 7 | Baylor Indiana Classic | W 83–47 | 4–2 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/15/1980* | No. 7 | vs. Oral Roberts | W 65–56 | 5–2 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis |
| 12/20/1980* NBC/TVS | No. 11 | at No. 8 North Carolina | L 56–65 | 5–3 | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| 12/23/1980* | No. 15 | at Kansas State | W 51–44 | 6–3 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| 12/28/1980* | No. 15 | vs. Rutgers Rainbow Classic Quarterfinals | W 55–50 | 7–3 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| 12/29/1980* | No. 15 | vs. Clemson Rainbow Classic Semifinals | L 57–58 | 7–4 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| 12/30/1980* | No. 15 | vs. Texas-Pan American Rainbow Classic Consolation round | L 60–66 | 7–5 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| 1/8/1981 | | Michigan State | W 55–43 | 8–5 (1–0) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/10/1981 | | No. 12 Illinois Rivalry | W 78–61 | 9–5 (2–0) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/15/1981 | | at No. 9 Michigan | L 52–55 | 9–6 (2–1) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| 1/18/1981 | | at Ohio State | W 67–60 | 10–6 (3–1) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| 1/22/1981 | | No. 14 Iowa | L 53–56 | 10–7 (3–2) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/24/1981 | | at Northwestern | W 93–56 | 11–7 (4–2) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| 1/29/1981 | | at No. 19 Minnesota | W 56–53 | 12–7 (5–2) | Williams Arena Minneapolis |
| 1/31/1981 | | Purdue Rivalry | W 69–61 | 13–7 (6–2) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/5/1981 | No. 17 | Wisconsin | W 89–64 | 14–7 (7–2) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/7/1981 | No. 17 | at Purdue Rivalry | L 66–68 | 14–8 (7–3) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| 2/12/1981 | | Northwestern | W 86–52 | 15–8 (8–3) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/14/1981 | No. 20 | at Wisconsin | W 59–52 | 16–8 (9–3) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2/19/1981 | No. 16 | at No. 12 Iowa | L 65–78 | 16–9 (9–4) | Iowa Field House Iowa City, Iowa |
| 2/21/1981 | No. 16 | Minnesota | W 74–63 | 17–9 (10–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/26/1981 | No. 16 | Ohio State | W 74–58 | 18–9 (11–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/28/1981 | No. 16 | Michigan | W 98–83 | 19–9 (12–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 3/5/1981 | No. 14 | at No. 16 Illinois Rivalry | W 69–66 | 20–9 (13–4) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| 3/7/1981 | No. 14 | at Michigan State | W 69–48 | 21–9 (14–4) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, Michigan |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 3/14/1981* NBC | (3 ME) No. 9 | vs. (6 ME) No. 18 Maryland Second Round | W 99–64 | 22–9 (14–4) | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio |
| 3/20/1981* NCAA/ESPN | (3 ME) No. 9 | (7 ME) UAB Sweet Sixteen | W 87–72 | 23–9 (14–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 3/22/1981* NBC | (3 ME) No. 9 | (9 ME) St. Joseph's (Pa.) Elite Eight | W 78–46 | 24–9 (14–4) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 3/28/1981* 1:45 p.m., NBC | (3 ME) No. 9 | (1 MW) No. 4 LSU Final Four | W 67–49 | 25–9 (14–4) | The Spectrum Philadelphia |
| 3/30/1981* NBC | (3 ME) No. 9 | (2 W) No. 6 North Carolina Championship | W 63–50 | 26–9 (14–4) | The Spectrum Philadelphia |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Bob Knight, Big Ten Coach of the Year
* Isiah Thomas, NCAA Men's MOP Award
* Ray Tolbert, Big Ten Player of the Year

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1981 | 1 | 2 | Isiah Thomas | Detroit Pistons |
| 1981 | 1 | 18 | Ray Tolbert | New Jersey Nets |
| 1981 | 5 | 115 | Glen Grunwald | Boston Celtics |
| 1981 | 8 | 180 | Steve Risley | Phoenix Suns |
| 1982 | 10 | 225 | Landon Turner | Boston Celtics |
| 1983 | 1 | 22 | Randy Wittman | Washington Bullets |
| 1983 | 2 | 40 | Jim Thomas | Indiana Pacers |
| 1983 | 2 | 41 | Ted Kitchel | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 1983 | 4 | 78 | Steve Bouchie | Detroit Pistons |
| 1983 | 7 | 141 | Tony Brown | Indiana Pacers |