1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team represented Wright State University in the 1980–81 NCAA NCAA Division II men's basketball season led by head coach Ralph Underhill.

1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball
NCAA tournament, 3rd Place Great Lakes Regional
Record25–4 ( )
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jim Brown
  • Bob Grote
Home arenaWSU PE Building
Seasons

Season summary

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Expectations were high for 1980–81 as the 80s began with an upgraded schedule.[1] Results were equally as high, producing a 24–3 regular season with the only disappointment being a fourth early NCAA tournament exit.

Roster

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1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 24 Rodney Benson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Cleveland St. (TN) Louisville, Kentucky
F 25 Jeff Bragg 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Marion Marion, Indiana
G 34 Eddie Crowe 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Carlisle Carlisle, Ohio
C 42 Steve Hartings 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Marion Local Maria Stein, Ohio
F 45 Leon Manning 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Northwest Indianapolis
G 20 Keith Miller 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Cleveland St. (TN) Louisville, Kentucky
F 44 Roman Welch 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr S. Plantation Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
G 32 Mike Zimmerman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Alter Kettering, Ohio
F 23 Tom Holzapfel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Greenville Greenville, Ohio
F 33 Theron Barbour 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Fr Atherton Louisville, Kentucky
F Phil Benninger 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Fr New Albany New Albany, Indiana
F 30 Mike Grote 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Fr Elder Cincinnati, Ohio
G T.C. Johnson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Fr Sidney Sidney, Ohio
G 35 Steve Purcell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Fr Kokomo Kokomo, Indiana
G 22 Barry Turner 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Wilmington Wilmington, Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Jim Brown, Bob Grote


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

Source[2] [3]

[4]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 29, 1980
Wilberforce W 111–72  1–0
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Dec 1, 1980
Miami Ohio W 92–84  2–0
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH 
Dec 3, 1980
Bolling Green W 81–68  3–0
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH 
Dec 6, 1980
Wayne State W 86–65  4–0
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Dec 10, 1980
at St. Leo W 124–77  5–0
 
St. Leo, Florida
Dec 17, 1980
at Bellarmine W 85–76  6–0
Knights Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 20, 1980
District of Columbia W 76–63  7–0
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Dec 22, 1980
Eastern Illinois W 81–73  8–0
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Jan 3, 1981
IUPUI W 81–61  9–0
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Jan 7, 1981
at Indiana Central W 68–61  10–0
Nicoson Hall 
Indianapolis
Jan 10, 1981
Marian (IN) W 87–67  11–0
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Jan 12, 1981
vs. Central State W 72–58  12–0
UD Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
Jan 14, 1981
at St. Joseph’s (IN) L 80–87  12–1
Roberts Municipal Stadium 
Evansville, Indiana
Jan 17, 1980
Northern Kentucky W 90–76  13–1
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Jan 21, 1981
Bellarmine L 84–87  13–2
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Jan 24, 1981
SIU Edwardsville W 81–65  14–2
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Jan 28, 1981
St. Joseph’s (IN) W 107–79  15–2
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Jan 31, 1981
at Northern Kentucky W 107–79  16–2
Regents Hall 
Highland Heights, Kentucky
Feb 4, 1981
at Youngstown State W 66–59  17–2
Beeghly Center 
Youngstown, OH
Feb 7, 1981
at Eastern Illinois L 63–72  17–3
Lantz Fieldhouse 
Charleston, Illinois
Feb 10, 1981
vs. Central State W 77–62  18–3
UD Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
Feb 12, 1981
vs. Kentucky Wesleyan W 78–60  19–3
 
Owensboro, Kentucky
Feb 18, 1981
Indiana Central W 92–57  20–3
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Feb 21, 1981
Siena Heights W 86–74  21–3
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Feb 21, 1981
Spring Arbor W 101–62  22–3
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Feb 25, 1981
New York Tech W 69–61  23–3
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
Feb 27, 1981
Kentucky Wesleyan W 96–76  24–3
WSU PE Building 
Fairborn, OH
NCAA tournament
Mar 6, 1981
Northern Michigan
NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional
L 64–73  24–4
Western Hall 
Macomb, Illinois
Mar 7, 1981
Indiana State–Evansville
NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional
W 88–85  25–4
Western Hall 
Macomb, Illinois
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.

Source[5]

Awards and honors

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Rodney Benson MVP
Rodney Benson All-American Div-II
Roman Welch All-American Div-II
Steve Hartings Raider Award

[6]

Statistics

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Number Name Games Average Points Assists Rebounds
24 Rodney Benson 28 21.9 612 55 229
44 Roman Welch 28 15.1 422 74 184
42 Steve Hartings 29 11.0 319 83 170
34 Eddie Crowe 29 10.9 315 116 72
29 Keith Miller 26 6.4 185 90 61
25 Jeff Bragg 28 5.8 163 57 42
35 Steve Purcell 28 4.6 129 31 75
23 Tom Holzapfel 4 4.5 18 0 8
45 Leon Manning 26 3.8 100 16 77
32 Mike Zimmerman 28 2.7 75 49 47
33 Theron Barbour 21 2.6 54 13 47
30 Mike Grote 16 2.0 32 11 10
_ Phil Benninger 5 1.4 7 1 12
22 Barry Turner 9 1.1 10 2 12

Source[7]

References

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  1. ^ Paul, Meyer (October 15, 1980). "Wright State gets its just 'desserts'". The Journal Herald. Vol. 173, no. 248. Journal Herald Inc. p. 10.
  2. ^ Paul, Meyer (October 15, 1980). "Wright State gets its just 'desserts'". The Journal Herald. Vol. 173, no. 248. Journal Herald Inc. p. 10.
  3. ^ Paul, Rolphes (October 15, 1980). "Wright State looks good on paper". Dayton Daily News. Vol. 104, no. 35. Cox Media. p. 21.
  4. ^ Nuhn, Gary (October 25, 1970). "WSU Now Enjoying Luxury of Working on Big Floor". Dayton Daily News. Vol. 94, no. 47. Cox Media. p. 13 D.
  5. ^ "Wright State Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  6. ^ "Wright State Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
  7. ^ "1979-80 Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved October 28, 2023.