1980–81 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1980–81 Tennessee Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1980–81 college basketball season . Led by third-year head coach Don DeVoe , the team played their home games at the Stokely Athletic Center in Knoxville, Tennessee . The Volunteers finished with a record of 21–8 (12–6 SEC, 2nd) and received an at-large bid to the 1981 NCAA tournament as the 4 seed in the East region. After an opening round win over VCU , Tennessee was defeated by No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant Virginia , 62–48.[ 2]
This was the third of five straight seasons of NCAA Tournament basketball for the Tennessee men's program. The Volunteers would not reach the Sweet Sixteen again until the 2000 NCAA tournament .
Roster
1980–81 Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
[ 3]
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 29, 1980 *
Rollins
W 94–58
1–0
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 3, 1980
at Auburn
L 65–75
1–1 (0–1)
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Dec 6, 1980 *
Purdue
W 78–69
2–1
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 9, 1980 *
Lafayette
W 72–42
3–1
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 13, 1980 *
Colorado
W 87–69
4–1
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 19, 1980 *
Iona
W 80–54
5–1
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 20, 1980 *
No. 18 Brigham Young
W 81–65
6–1
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 28, 1980 *
vs. No. 11 Arizona State Sugar Bowl Tournament
W 69–53
7–1
Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 29, 1980 *
vs. Duke Sugar Bowl Tournament
W 90–69
8–1
Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 3, 1981
No. 18
at Alabama
W 70–69
9–1 (1–1)
Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 7, 1981
No. 13
Ole Miss
W 73–68
10–1 (2–1)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 10, 1981
No. 13
at No. 4 Kentucky
L 47–48
10–2 (2–2)
Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
Jan 14, 1981
No. 13
Florida
W 78–64
11–2 (3–2)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 17, 1981
No. 11
at Vanderbilt
W 72–66
12–2 (4–2)
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 21, 1981
No. 11
Mississippi State
W 81–57
13–2 (5–2)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 24, 1981
No. 8
at No. 5 LSU
L 63–80
13–3 (5–3)
Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 28, 1981
No. 8
Georgia
W 72–67
14–3 (6–3)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 31, 1981
No. 11
Alabama
W 62–58
15–3 (7–3)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 4, 1981
No. 11
at Ole Miss
L 52–71
15–4 (7–4)
Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi
Feb 7, 1981
No. 10
No. 6 Kentucky
W 87–71
16–4 (8–4)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 11, 1981
No. 10
at Florida
W 53–52
17–4 (9–4)
Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida
Feb 14, 1981
No. 9
Vanderbilt
W 79–72
18–4 (10–4)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 18, 1981
No. 9
at Mississippi State
W 73–70
19–4 (11–4)
Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi
Feb 21, 1981
No. 8
No. 4 LSU
L 65–66
19–5 (11–5)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 25, 1981
No. 8
at Georgia
L 75–76
19–6 (11–6)
Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia
Feb 28, 1981
No. 10
Auburn
W 75–63
20–6 (12–6)
Stokely Center Knoxville, Tennessee
SEC tournament
Mar 5, 1981 * TVS
No. 10
vs. Ole Miss Quarterfinals
L 71–81
20–7
BJCC Coliseum Birmingham, Alabama
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 1981 *
(4 E) No. 15
vs. (5 E) VCU Second round
W 58–56 OT
21–7
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
Mar 19, 1981 *
(4 E) No. 15
vs. (1 E) No. 5 Virginia East Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
L 48–62[ 2]
21–8
The Omni Atlanta, Georgia
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
[ 4]
[ 5]
Rankings
[ 6]
NBA draft
[ 7]
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons