1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record21–9 (11–5 MVC)
Head coach
Home arenaOmaha Civic Auditorium
Seasons
← 1979–80
1981–82 →
1980–81 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wichita State 12 – 4   .750 26 – 7   .788
Creighton † 11 – 5   .688 21 – 9   .700
Tulsa 11 – 5   .688 26 – 7   .788
Drake 10 – 6   .625 18 – 11   .621
Bradley 10 – 6   .625 18 – 9   .667
New Mexico State 7 – 9   .438 10 – 17   .370
West Texas State 7 – 9   .438 16 – 11   .593
Indiana State 4 – 12   .250 9 – 18   .333
Southern Illinois 0 – 16   .000 7 – 20   .259
† 1981 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll[1]

The 1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by head coach Tom Apke, played their home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Jays finished with a 21–9 record (11–5 MVC), and won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament[2] to earn an automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA tournament. As No. 8 seed in the Mideast region, the Jays fell to No. 9 seed Saint Joseph's in the opening round.[3]

Roster

1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 10 Mark Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
 So Corning Corning, Iowa
G 30 Kevin McKenna 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr   Palatine, Illinois
F 32 Alex Stivrins 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr   Lincoln, Nebraska
F 41 George Morrow 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
 Sr   Memphis, Tennessee
F/C 51 Kevin Ross 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
—
 Jr   Kansas City, Kansas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[4]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1980*
 Wisconsin–Superior W 92–59  1–0
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 2, 1980*
 Nebraska–Omaha W 79–72  2–0
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 6, 1980*
 Nebraska W 66–61 OT 3–0
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 8, 1980*
 at Saint Louis W 64–57  4–0
 St. Louis Arena 
St. Louis, Missouri
Dec 9, 1980*
 Loyola–Chicago W 82–74  5–0
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 12, 1980*
 at Iowa State W 77–73  6–0
 Hilton Coliseum 
Ames, Iowa
Dec 22, 1980*
 Canisius W 72–52  7–0
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 28, 1980*
 at South Florida L 62–77  7–1
 Sun Dome 
Tampa, Florida
Jan 3, 1981
 Tulsa W 97–86  8–1
(1–0) 		Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 8, 1981
 at Southern Illinois W 78–62  9–1
(2–0) 		SIU Arena 
Carbondale, Illinois
Jan 10, 1981
 at Indiana State W 62–61  10–1
(3–0) 		Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana
Jan 15, 1981*
 Marquette L 66–76  10–2
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 17, 1981
 Bradley W 54–51  11–2
(4–0) 		Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 19, 1981
 at Drake L 70–71  11–3
(4–1) 		Veterans Memorial Auditorium 
Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 22, 1981
 Wichita State L 72–77  11–4
(4–2) 		Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 24, 1981
 West Texas A&M W 86–69  12–4
(5–2) 		Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 31, 1981
 at Tulsa L 84–87  12–5
(5–3) 		Tulsa Convention Center 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Feb 2, 1981
 Southern Illinois W 50–43  13–5
(6–3) 		Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 5, 1981
 Indiana State W 65–62  14–5
(7–3) 		Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 7, 1981
 at Bradley L 80–93  14–6
(7–4) 		Robertson Memorial Field House 
Peoria, Illinois
Feb 9, 1981*
 at No. 3 DePaul L 57–83  14–7
 Rosemont Horizon (16,473)
Rosemont, Illinois
Feb 14, 1981
 New Mexico State W 95–83  15–7
(8–4) 		Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 19, 1981
 Drake W 73–69  16–7
(9–4) 		Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 21, 1981
 at No. 14 Wichita State L 70–83  16–8
(9–5) 		Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Feb 26, 1981
 at West Texas A&M W 90–86  17–8
(10–5) 		WT Fieldhouse 
Canyon, Texas
Feb 28, 1981
 at New Mexico State W 84–78  18–8
(11–5) 		Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Missouri Valley Conference tournament
Mar 5, 1981*
 (2) (7) Indiana State
Quarterfinals 		W 64–61  19–8
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Mar 6, 1981*
 (2) (3) Tulsa
Semifinals 		W 66–64  20–8
 Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Mar 7, 1981*
 (2) at (1) Wichita State
Championship game 		W 70–64  21–8
 Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
1981 NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1981*
 (8 ME) vs. (9 ME) Saint Joseph's
First round 		L 57–59  21–9
 University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
ME=Mideast.
All times are in Central.

[5]

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1980-81 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "Creighton 68, Southwest Missouri State 52". UPI Archives. March 6, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  3. ^ "Bluejays Flatten Feeble Aggies as N.M. Makes Another 1st-Round Exit". Deseret News. March 15, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "1980-81 Creighton Bluejays Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "2019-20 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide". Creighton Bluejays. Retrieved February 25, 2023.