1980–81 Utah Utes men's basketball team

[2] The 1980–81 Utah Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah in the 1980-81 season. Head coach Jerry Pimm, and Senior stars Tom Chambers and Danny Vranes would lead the Utes to a Western Athletic Conference championship and the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. In the best season the Utes would have under Pimm, the team finished with an overall record of 25–5 (13–3 WAC). Vranes and Chambers were both selected in the top 8 picks of the NBA Draft. Chambers, drafted by the San Diego (Now Los Angeles) Clippers, would go on to play for several NBA teams in his career, most notably the Phoenix Suns, with whom he would make an appearance in the 1993 NBA Finals; and the Utah Jazz.

1980–81 Utah Utes men's basketball
WAC regular season Champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 14
Record25–5 (13–3 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaSpecial Events Center
Seasons
1981–82 →
1980–81 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Utah 13 3   .813 25 5   .833
No. 17 Wyoming 13 3   .813 24 6   .800
No. 16 BYU 12 4   .750 25 7   .781
UTEP 9 7   .563 18 12   .600
San Diego State 8 8   .500 15 12   .556
Hawaii 7 9   .438 14 13   .519
New Mexico 6 10   .375 11 15   .423
Air Force 3 13   .188 9 18   .333
Colorado State 1 15   .063 3 24   .111
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

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1980–81 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 20 Pace Mannion 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Paradise, Nevada
F 23 Danny Vranes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Salt Lake City, Utah
F/C 42 Tom Chambers 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Ogden, Utah
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

[3]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Dec 6, 1980*
Weber State W 76–61  1–0
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 9, 1980*
at Utah State W 83–81  2–0
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum 
Logan, Utah
Dec 12, 1980*
Oklahoma State W 89–73  3–0
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 13, 1980*
Nebraska W 57–55  4–0
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 16, 1980*
Utah State W 99–74  5–0
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 20, 1980*
at No. 20 Louisville W 78–59  6–0
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 26, 1980*
No. 19 vs. Drake
Far West Classic
L 68–69  6–1
Memorial Coliseum 
Portland, Oregon
Dec 27, 1980*
No. 19 vs. Cal State Fullerton
Far West Classic
W 76–70  7–1
Memorial Coliseum 
Portland, Oregon
Dec 28, 1980*
No. 19 vs. Northwestern
Far West Classic
W 73–63  8–1
Memorial Coliseum 
Portland, Oregon
Jan 2, 1981*
No. 20 at UNLV W 76–75  9–1
Las Vegas Convention Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
Jan 3, 1981
No. 20 at Air Force W 74–60  10–1
(1–0)
Clune Arena 
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Jan 8, 1981
No. 18 Hawaii W 100–87  11–1
(2–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 10, 1981
No. 18 San Diego State W 97–74  12–1
(3–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 15, 1981
No. 16 at UTEP W 69–64  13–1
(4–0)
Special Events Center 
El Paso, Texas
Jan 17, 1981
No. 16 at New Mexico W 82–76  14–1
(5–0)
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 23, 1981
No. 14 Wyoming W 55–53  15–1
(6–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 24, 1981
No. 14 Colorado State W 86–56  16–1
(7–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 31, 1981
No. 9 No. 15 BYU W 60–56  17–1
(8–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 6, 1981
No. 7 Air Force W 48–46  18–1
(9–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 7, 1981
No. 7 UNLV W 95–83  20–1
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 12, 1981
No. 6 at San Diego State W 62–53  21–1
(10–0)
San Diego Sports Arena 
San Diego, California
Feb 14, 1981
No. 6 at Hawaii L 74–83  21–2
(10–1)
Neal S. Blaisdell Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Feb 19, 1981
No. 9 New Mexico W 90–73  22–2
(11–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 21, 1981
No. 9 UTEP W 69–59  23–2
(12–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 26, 1981
No. 7 at Colorado State W 73–50  24–2
(13–1)
Moby Arena 
Fort Collins, Colorado
Feb 28, 1981
No. 7 at Wyoming L 50–53  24–3
(13–2)
War Memorial Fieldhouse 
Laramie, Wyoming
Mar 7, 1981
No. 9 at No. 18 BYU L 76–95  24–4
(13–3)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 1981*
(3 W) No. 14 vs. (11 W) Northeastern
Second Round
W 94–69  25–4
Special Events Center 
El Paso, Texas
Mar 19, 1981*
(3 W) No. 14 vs. (2 W) No. 6 North Carolina
Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
L 56–61[4]  25–5
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.

NCAA tournament

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[5] 3/15/1981, second round Vs. Northeastern @ Don Haskins Center, El Paso, TX - W, 94-69
3/19/1981, Sweet Sixteen Vs. North Carolina @ Special Events Center, Salt Lake City, UT - L, 56-61

Rankings

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[6]

NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 5 Danny Vranes Seattle SuperSonics
1 8 Tom Chambers San Diego Clippers
Source:[7]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1980-81 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1980-81 Utah Utes Schedule and Results - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "1980–81 Utah Utes Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  4. ^ "B.Y.U. Defeats Irish, 51-50; North Carolina Ousts Utah". The New York Times. March 20, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  5. ^ "NCAA basketball tournament History: Utah Utes - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  6. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 877–878. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
  7. ^ "1981 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 16, 2020.