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1980–81 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1980-81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 67th season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Metro Conference and were coached by Denny Crum, who was in his tenth season. The team played its home games at Freedom Hall.

1980–81 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
Metro Conference Champions
Metro Conference tournament champions
ConferenceMetro Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 12
Record21–9 (11–1 Metro)
Head coach
CaptainGame captains
Home arenaFreedom Hall
Seasons
1980–81 Metro Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 12 Louisville † 11 – 1   .917 21 – 9   .700
Florida State 7 – 5   .583 17 – 11   .607
Cincinnati 6 – 6   .500 16 – 13   .552
Virginia Tech 6 – 6   .500 15 – 13   .536
Memphis State 5 – 7   .417 13 – 14   .481
Tulane 4 – 8   .333 12 – 15   .444
Saint Louis 3 – 9   .250 9 – 18   .333
† 1981 Metro Conference tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The Cardinals won the Metro Conference tournament championship (their 3rd), defeating Cincinnati 42–31. As defending Champion Louisville was upset by a half-court shot by U.S. Reed and lost to Arkansas 74–73 in the NCAA tournament second round. The Cardinals finished with a 21–9 (11–1) record.[2]

Roster

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1980–81 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 4 Lancaster Gordon 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Jim Hill Jackson, Mississippi
G 5 Jerry Eaves 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Ballard Louisville, Kentucky
G 14 Greg Deuser 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Floyd Central New Albany, Indiana
F 21 Scooter McCray 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Mount Vernon Mount Vernon, New York
F/C 22 Rodney McCray 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Mount Vernon Mount Vernon, New York
G 34 Roger Burkman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Franklin Central Indianapolis, Indiana
C 40 Marty Pulliam 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Mercer Country Senior Harrodsburg, Kentucky
C 41 Wiley Brown 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Worth County Sylvester, Georgia
F 43 Derek Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Hogansville Hogansville, Georgia
G/F 44 Poncho Wright 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Marshall Indianapolis, Indiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule

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Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
November 22*
 TVS 		No. 3 vs. No. 2 DePaul
Hall of Fame Game 		L 80–86  0–1
 Springfield Civic Center (8,937)
Springfield, MA
December 4
 at Tulsa L 60–68  0–2
  
Tulsa, OK
December 6*
 at Oklahoma State L 71–72  0–3
  
Stillwater, OK
December 13*
 NBC 		No. 4 Maryland W 78–67  1–3
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
December 20*
 No. 20 Utah L 59–78  1–4
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
December 22*
 Minnesota L 59–62  1–5
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
December 29*
 vs. No. 6 North Carolina
Winston Tire Classic 		L 64–86  1–6
 L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
December 30*
 vs. USC
Winston Tire Classic 		W 79–50  2–6
 L.A. Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
January 3*
 at Kansas State L 47–64  2–7
 Ahearn Field House 
Manhattan, KS
January 5
 at Tulane W 73–53  3–7
(1–0) 		Louisiana Superdome 
New Orleans, LA
January 10
 at Cincinnati W 83–68  4–7
(2–0) 		Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, OH
January 17
 Florida State W 98–78  5–7
(3–0) 		Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
January 18*
 Missouri W 71–49  6–7
 Freedom Hall (13,386)
Louisville, KY
January 22*
 at Memphis State L 55–60 OT 6–8
(3–1) 		Mid-South Coliseum 
Memphis, TN
January 27*
 Providence W 71–55  7–8
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
January 29
 St. Louis W 61–57  8–8
(4–1) 		Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
January 31
 Virginia Tech W 92–70  9–8
(5–1) 		Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
February 2*
 US International W 86–68  10–8
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
February 4
 Tulane W 85–58  11–8
(6–1) 		Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
February 7
 at Florida State W 82–73 OT 12–8
(7–1) 		Tully Gymnasium 
Tallahassee, FL
February 9
 at Virginia Tech W 71–66  13–8
(8–1) 		Cassell Coliseum 
Blacksburg, VA
February 13*
 at Marquette W 79–60  14–8
 MECCA Arena (11,052)
Milwaukee, WI
February 16
 Memphis State W 95–65  15–8
(9–1) 		Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
February 18*
 Iona W 91–57  16–8
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
February 23
 Cincinnati W 81–67  17–8
(10–1) 		Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
February 25
 at St. Louis W 97–85  18–8
(11–1) 		The Checkersdome 
St. Louis, MO
February 28*
 No. 20 Western Kentucky W 90–75  19–8
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
Metro Tournament
March 7*
 (1) (4) Virginia Tech
Semifinals 		W 81–68  20–8
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
March 8*
 (1) (3) Cincinnati
Final 		W 42–31  21–8
 Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
NCAA tournament
March 14*
 NBC 		(4 MW) No. 12 vs. (5 MW) No. 20 Arkansas
First Round 		L 73–74[3]  21–9
 Frank Erwin Center 
Austin, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[4]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1980-81 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "Lousivlle Basketball Media Guide". Lousivlle Basketball Media Guide. University of Louisville. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "March 14, 1981: When the NCAA tournament became Madness". Sports Illustrated. March 14, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2023. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  4. ^ 2012–13 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball media guide. Retrieved 2013-May-08.
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