1980–81 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

1980–81 Wyoming Cowboys basketball
WAC co-champions
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 17
Record24–6 (13–3 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaWar Memorial Fieldhouse
Seasons
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]

The 1980–81 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team represented the University of Wyoming as a member of the Western Athletic Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cowboys, led by second-year head coach Jim Brandenburg, played their home games at War Memorial Fieldhouse in Laramie, Wyoming.

Roster

1980–81 Wyoming Cowboys men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G Charles Bradley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Edgewood Edgewood, Maryland
F Bill Garnett 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Regis Jesuit Denver, Colorado
C Chris Engler 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Minnesota Oak Park Heights, Minnesota
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 28, 1980*
 at Nebraska W 62–59 OT 1–0
 Bob Devaney Sports Center (7,800)
Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 2, 1980*
 Midwestern State W 87–61  2–0
 War Memorial Fieldhouse (4,389)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 4, 1980*
 Stanford W 73–51  3–0
 War Memorial Fieldhouse (5,079)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 6, 1980*
 Adams State W 101–67  4–0
 War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,042)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 11, 1980*
 at Boise State W 76–51  5–0
 Bronco Gym (2,076)
Boise, Idaho
Dec 13, 1980*
 at USC L 57–59  5–1
 L.A. Sports Arena (3,270)
Los Angeles, California
Dec 16, 1980*
 Western Montana W 79–45  6–1
 War Memorial Fieldhouse (4,713)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 19, 1980*
 vs. Oklahoma W 98–77  7–1
 Astrodome (3,800)
Houston, Texas
Dec 20, 1980*
 at Houston L 61–70  7–2
 Astrodome (5,300)
Houston, Texas
Dec 29, 1980*
 Illinois–Chicago W 99–47  8–2
 War Memorial Fieldhouse (4,419)
Laramie, Wyoming
Jan 2, 1981
 at San Diego State W 69–51  9–2
(1–0) 		San Diego Sports Arena (3,247)
San Diego, California
Jan 5, 1981
 at Hawaii W 71–66 OT 10–2
(2–0) 		Neal S. Blaisdell Center (5,479)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 9, 1981*
 UTEP W 44–42  11–2
(3–0) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse (8,107)
Laramie, Wyoming
Jan 10, 1981
 New Mexico W 91–54  12–2
(4–0) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,814)
Laramie, Wyoming
Jan 17, 1981
 at Colorado State W 85–54  13–2
(5–0) 		Moby Arena (8,976)
Fort Collins, Colorado
Jan 23, 1981
 at No. 14 Utah L 53–55  13–3
(5–1) 		Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,122)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 24, 1981
 at No. 18 BYU L 70–84  13–4
(5–2) 		Marriott Center (22,983)
Provo, Utah
Jan 27, 1981*
 UNLV W 71–66  14–4
 War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,124)
Laramie, Wyoming
Jan 31, 1981
 Air Force W 69–45  15–4
(6–2) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,234)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 5, 1981
 Hawaii W 77–58  16–4
(7–2) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,998)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 7, 1981
 San Diego State W 102–57  17–4
(8–2) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,991)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 12, 1981
 at New Mexico L 56–57  17–5
(8–3) 		University Arena (15,803)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 14, 1981
 at UTEP W 63–58  18–5
(9–3) 		Special Events Center (8,121)
El Paso, Texas
Feb 21, 1981
 Colorado State W 68–40  19–5
(10–3) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse (8,665)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 26, 1981
 No. 15 BYU W 86–84  20–5
(11–3) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse (9,300)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 28, 1981
 No. 7 Utah W 53–50  21–5
(12–3) 		War Memorial Fieldhouse (8,974)
Laramie, Wyoming
Mar 6, 1981
 No. 19 at Air Force W 46–38  22–5
(13–3) 		Clune Arena (6,300)
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mar 7, 1981*
 No. 19 at UNLV W 97–70  23–5
 Las Vegas Convention Center (6,393)
Las Vegas, Nevada
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1981*
 (5 W) No. 17 vs. (12 W) Howard
First round 		W 78–43[2]  24–5
 Pauley Pavilion (12,045)
Los Angeles, California
Mar 14, 1981*
 (5 W) No. 17 vs. (4 W) No. 19 Illinois
Second round 		L 65–67[3]  24–6
 Pauley Pavilion (12,340)
Los Angeles, California
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.

[4][5]

Rankings

Main article: 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

[6]

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1980-81 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "Stone-Cold Howard Gets Baptism by Fire". The Washington Post. March 14, 1981. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  3. ^ "Illinois 67, Wyoming 65". The New York Times. March 15, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "1980-81 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Wyoming Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "1980-1981 Wyoming Cowboys Men's Basketball Stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.
  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.