1981 SWAC men's basketball tournament

The 1981 SWAC men's basketball tournament was held March 5–7, 1981. The quarterfinal round was held at the home arena of the higher-seeded team, while the semifinal and championship rounds were held at the F. G. Clark Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Southern defeated Jackson State, 69–63 in the championship game. The Jaguars received the conference's automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region.

1981 SWAC men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1980–81
Teams	7
First round site	Campus Sites
Semifinals site	F. G. Clark Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Finals site	F. G. Clark Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Champions	Southern (1st title)
Winning coach	Carl Stewart (1st title)
SWAC men's basketball tournaments

1980–81 SWAC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Southern †	8	–	4		.667			17	–	11		.607
Alcorn State	8	–	4		.667			17	–	12		.586
Grambling State	7	–	5		.583			18	–	11		.621
Jackson State	7	–	5		.583			16	–	13		.552
Texas Southern	7	–	5		.583			13	–	13		.500
Mississippi Valley State	4	–	8		.333			11	–	16		.407
Prairie View	1	–	11		.083			2	–	23		.080
† 1981 SWAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Bracket and results

	Quarterfinals March 5 & 6					Semifinals March 7					Final March 8
						1	Southern	69
						4	Grambling State	65
	4	Grambling State	68
	5	Texas Southern	66
											1	Southern	69
											3	Jackson State	63
	3	Jackson State	83
	6	Mississippi Valley State	70
						3	Jackson State	71			Third place
						2	Alcorn State	69
	2	Alcorn State	90								4	Grambling State	77
	7	Prairie View	79								2	Alcorn State	74