# 1980–81 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

The 1980–81 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team represented the University of South Alabama during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by head coach Cliff Ellis, in his sixth year as head coach. They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center, and were members of the Sun Belt Conference. South Alabama finished the season 25–6, 9–3 in Sun Belt play to finish tied for first place. They were invited to the NIT tournament, where they lost to Tulsa in the quarterfinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 1, 1980* | | Wisconsin–Parkside | W 86–58 | 1–0 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 3, 1980* | | Middle Tennessee State | L 79–80 | 1–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 5, 1980* | | vs. Texas–El Paso Worcester County Classic | W 77–66 | 2–1 | Hart Center Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Dec 6, 1980* | | vs. Holy Cross Worcester County Classic | W 77–53 | 3–1 | Hart Center Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Dec 11, 1980* | | Tennessee Tech | W 67–48 | 4–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 13, 1980* | | Prairie View A&M | W 101–53 | 5–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 16, 1980* | | at No. 7 Ohio State | W 76–67 | 6–1 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 18, 1980* | | at Akron | W 52–49 | 7–1 | Memorial Hall Akron, Ohio |
| Dec 29, 1980* | | Navy Senior Bowl | W 65–47 | 8–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 30, 1980* | | Fordham Senior Bowl | W 79–61 | 9–1 | Mobile Municipal Auditorium Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 2, 1981* | | Mississippi Valley State | W 98–67 | 10–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 6, 1981 | No. 15 | at VCU | W 76–62 | 11–1 (1–0) | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 8, 1981 | | at UNC Charlotte | W 92–61 | 12–1 (2–0) | Belk Gymnasium Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Jan 10, 1981 | | Georgia State | W 74–54 | 13–1 (3–0) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 13, 1981 | | UNC Charlotte | W 80–63 | 14–1 (4–0) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 17, 1981* | | Nicholls State | W 95–62 | 15–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 22, 1981 | No. 11 | VCU | L 70–86 | 15–2 (4–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 24, 1981* | | at McNeese State | W 64–60 | 16–2 | Lake Charles Civic Center Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| Jan 27, 1981 | | at Jacksonville | W 55–48 | 17–2 (5–1) | Jacksonville Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Jan 31, 1981 | | at UAB | L 70–73 | 17–3 (5–2) | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,131) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Feb 5, 1981 | | South Florida | W 54–50 | 18–3 (6–2) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 8, 1981 | | Jacksonville | W 86–65 | 19–3 (7–2) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 10, 1981 | | at Georgia State | W 82–49 | 20–3 (8–2) | GSU Sports Arena Atlanta, Georgia |
| Feb 12, 1981 | | at South Florida | L 52–70 | 20–4 (8–3) | USF Sun Dome Tampa, Florida |
| Feb 17, 1981 | | UAB | W 77–57 | 21–4 (9–3) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 19, 1981* 7:30 p.m. | | at Illinois State | W 50–44 | 22–4 | Horton Field House (4,572) Normal, Illinois |
| Sun Belt Conference tournament ||||||
| Feb 27, 1981* | (2) | vs. (7) Georgia State Quarterfinals | W 79–41 | 23–4 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Feb 28, 1981* | (2) | vs. (3) UAB Semifinals | W 86–59 | 23–5 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum (5,271) Jacksonville, Florida |
| NIT tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1981* | | Texas–Arlington First round | W 74–71 | 24–5 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Mar 16, 1981* | | at Georgia Second round | W 73–72 | 25–5 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Mar 20, 1981* | | at Tulsa Quarterfinals | L 68–69 | 25–6 | Mabee Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||