1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions; Big Ten champions
National Championship Game, ; W 60-53 vs. North Carolina
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 9
Record	26–9 (14–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bobby Knight (10th season);
Assistant coaches	Jim Crews; Jene Davis; Gerry Gimelstob;
Captain	Ray Tolbert ; Glen Grunwald
Home arena	Assembly Hall
	Seasons ← 1979–80 1981–82 →

1980–81 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 9 Indiana	14	–	4	.778	26	–	9	.743
No. 13 Iowa	13	–	5	.722	21	–	7	.750
No. 19 Illinois	12	–	6	.667	21	–	8	.724
Purdue	10	–	8	.556	21	–	11	.656
Minnesota	9	–	9	.500	19	–	11	.633
Ohio State	9	–	9	.500	14	–	13	.519
Michigan	8	–	10	.444	19	–	11	.633
Michigan State	7	–	11	.389	13	–	14	.481
Wisconsin	5	–	13	.278	11	–	16	.407
Northwestern	3	–	15	.167	9	–	18	.333

Rankings from AP Poll

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.^[1]

Roster

1980–81 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
F	54	Steve Bouchie	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	228 lb (103 kg)	So	Washington, Indiana
G	31	Tony Brown	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	So	Chicago, Illinois
G	23	Chuck Franz	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	So	Clarksville, Indiana
F	40	Glen Grunwald	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Sr	Franklin Park, Illinois
F	44	Phil Isenbarger	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Sr	Muncie, Indiana
F	30	Ted Kitchel	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	209 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Galveston, Indiana
F	43	Mike LaFave	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	188 lb (85 kg)	Fr	Indianapolis, Indiana
F	34	Steve Risley	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sr	Indianapolis, Indiana
G	11	Isiah Thomas	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Chicago, Illinois
G	20	Jim Thomas	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	189 lb (86 kg)	So	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
F/C	45	Ray Tolbert	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	Anderson, Indiana
F/C	32	Landon Turner	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	241 lb (109 kg)	Jr	Indianapolis, Indiana
G	24	Randy Wittman	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Indianapolis, Indiana

Head coach

Bob Knight (Ohio State)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

^[2]

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^[3]	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^[4]	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^[5]	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^[6]
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

^[7]

Notes

This was guard Isiah Thomas' sophomore season. Fresh off a national championship and the 1981 NCAA men's basketball tournament MVP, Thomas declared early for the 1981 NBA draft and was selected #2 overall by the Detroit Pistons.
On July 25, 1981, forward Landon Turner was injured in a car crash and suffered a fractured spine and paralysis in both legs.^[8]

References

^ "Indiana Basketball Men's Database". IndyStar. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
^ "1981 NCAA Final Four program". March 1981. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
^ "Indiana Beats Maryland by 35". The Washington Post. March 15, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^ "INDIANA GAINS FINAL FOUR, ROUTING ST. JOSEPH'S, 78-46". The New York Times. March 23, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
^ "HOOISERS ROMP AS L.S.U. OFFENSE FAILS". The New York Times. March 29, 1981. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
^ "1981 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2012.
^ "Turner, Indiana U. Star, Seriously Hurt in Crash". The New York Times. July 26, 1981.

[1] "Indiana Basketball Men's Database". IndyStar. Retrieved November 16, 2015.

[2] "1981 NCAA Final Four program". March 1981. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)

[3] "Indiana Beats Maryland by 35". The Washington Post. March 15, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.

[4] "INDIANA GAINS FINAL FOUR, ROUTING ST. JOSEPH'S, 78-46". The New York Times. March 23, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2023.

[5] "HOOISERS ROMP AS L.S.U. OFFENSE FAILS". The New York Times. March 29, 1981. Retrieved December 12, 2021.

[Tourney_History-6] "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.

[7] "1981 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2012.

[8] "Turner, Indiana U. Star, Seriously Hurt in Crash". The New York Times. July 26, 1981.

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v t e Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
Venues	Old Assembly Hall (1900–1917) Men's Gymnasium (1917–1928) The Fieldhouse (1928–1960) New Fieldhouse (1960–1971) Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (1971–present) Cook Hall (practice)
Rivalries	Illinois Kentucky Purdue
Culture & lore	2011 Kentucky upset A Season on the Brink (film) Blue blood status Crimson Guard Crossroads Classic "Indiana, Our Indiana"
People	Head coaches NBA draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics