1980–81 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
{{short description|American college basketball season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NCAA team season
|image_size = 120
|CoachRank=
|APRank=
|hc_year = 5th
|mode=Basketball
|year=1980–81
|team=Michigan State Spartans
|image=Michigan State Spartans script.svg
|conference=Big Ten Conference
|division=
|captain=Mike Brkovich
|captain2=Jay Vincent
|short_conf=Big Ten
|record= 13–14
|conf_record= 7–11
|head_coach=Jud Heathcote
|asst_coach1= Dave Harshman
|asst_coach2=Edgar Wilson
|asst_coach3=John Holms
|stadium=Jenison Field House
|champion=
|bowl=
|bowl_result=
}}
{{1980–81 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings}}
The 1980–81 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Jud Heathcote in his fifth year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished with a record of 13–14, 7–11 to finish in eighth place in Big Ten play.
Previous season
The Spartans finished the 1979–80 season 12–15, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place in conference.
Roster and statistics
| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%" |
| colspan=9 style={{NCAA color cell|Michigan State Spartans}}| 1980–81 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team |
|---|
| style="background:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|3}}; color:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|4}};"|No
!style="background:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|3}}; color:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|4}};"|Name !style="background:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|3}}; color:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|4}};"|Pos !style="background:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|3}}; color:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|4}};"|Year !style="background:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|3}}; color:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|4}};"|Height !style="background:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|3}}; color:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|4}};"|Pts !style="background:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|3}}; color:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|4}};"|Reb !style="background:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|3}}; color:#{{NCAA color|Michigan State Spartans|4}};"|Ast |
| 5
|Kevin Smith |G |JR |6–2 |13.5 |2.3 |4.8 |
| 10
|Tim Gore |G |FR |6–4 |1.1 |0.8 |0.3 |
| 12
|G |SR |6–5 |8.2 |2.2 |2.4 |
| 15
|Bob Fossum |G |FR |5–9 |0.2 |0.2 |0.2 |
| 20
|Ben Tower |F |FR |6–8 |5.0 |3.8 |0.7 |
| 22
|Bill Cawood |G |SO |6–7 |0.8 |0.5 |0.2 |
| 23
|Randy Morrison |G |FR |6–2 |3.4 |1.1 |1.6 |
| 24
|Richard Mudd |F |FR |6–9 |0.0 |1.5 |0.0 |
| 30
|Kurt James |F |SR |6–7 | | | |
| 31
|F/C |SR |6–8 |22.6 |8.5 |1.9 |
| 41
|Derek Perry |F |SO |6–6 |7.5 |3.9 |0.7 |
| 42
|Richard Kaye |F |SR |6–6 |3.3 |1.8 |0.4 |
| 44
|Herb Bostic |F/G |SO |6–4 |2.4 |1.0 |0.7 |
| 45
|Kevin Radelet |G |JR |5–11 |0.2 |0.0 |0.0 |
| 45
|George Cooper | | | |2.7 |0.3 |0.0 |
| 52
|Steve Bates |C |JR |6–10 |0.6 |0.7 |0.0 |
Source{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1981-schedule.html|title=1980–81 Michigan State Spartans Roster and Stats {{!}} College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com|website=College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com|access-date=2016-12-06}}{{Cite web |url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/16-17MediaGuide.pdf |title=16-17 Michigan State Spartans |publisher=Michigan State University |accessdate=April 16, 2022 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415035346/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2016-17/misc_non_event/16-17MediaGuide.pdf |archive-date=April 15, 2019}}
Schedule and results
{{CBB schedule start|gamehighs=no|attend=no}}
|-
!colspan=9 style={{NCAA color cell|Michigan State Spartans}}| Non-conference regular season
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Nov 28, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| opponent = Western Michigan
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| gamename = Spartan Cutlass Classic semifinal
| score = 89–77
| record = 1–0
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Nov 29, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| opponent = Central Michigan
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing
| gamename = Spartan Cutlass Classic championship
| score = 66–89
| record = 1–1
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 4, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| opponent = Long Beach State
| site_stadium = Long Beach Arena
| site_cityst = Long Beach, CA
| score = 71–60
| record = 2–1
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 6, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| opponent = Cal State Fullerton
| site_stadium = Titan Gym
| site_cityst = Fullerton, CA
| score = 58–42
| record = 3–1
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 12, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| opponent = Eastern Michigan
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 73–63
| record = 4–1
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 16, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| opponent = BYU
| site_stadium = Marriott Center
| site_cityst = Provo, UT
| score = 50–82
| record = 4–2
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 19, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| neutral = yes
| opponent = Utah State
| site_stadium = Dunkin' Donuts Center
| site_cityst = Providence, RI
| gamename = Industrial National Classic semifinal
| score = 70–74
| record = 4–3
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 20, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| away = yes
| opponent = Providence
| site_stadium = Dunkin' Donuts Center
| site_cityst = Providence, RI
| gamename = Industrial National Classic third place game
| score = 77–76
| record = 5–3
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Dec 27, 1980
| nonconf = yes
| opponent = Saint Joseph's
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 71–67
| record = 6–3
}}
|-
!colspan=9 style={{NCAA color cell|Michigan State Spartans}}|Big Ten regular season
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 8, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Indiana
| site_stadium = Assembly Hall
| site_cityst = Bloomington, IN
| score = 43–55
| record = 6–4
| conference = 0–1
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 10, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Iowa
| opprank = 11
| site_stadium = Iowa Field House
| site_cityst = Iowa City, IA
| score = 57–65
| record = 6–5
| conference = 0–2
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 15, 1981
| opponent = Minnesota
| opprank = 20
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 77–86
| record = 6–6
| conference = 0–3
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 17, 1981
| opponent = Northwestern
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 84–70
| record = 7–6
| conference = 1–3
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 22, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Wisconsin
| site_stadium = Wisconsin Field House
| site_cityst = Madison, WI
| score = 62–63
| record = 7–7
| conference = 1–4
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 24, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Purdue
| site_stadium = Mackey Arena
| site_cityst = West Lafayette, IN
| score = 74–68
| record = 8–7
| conference = 2–4
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 29, 1981
| opponent = Illinois
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 70–71
| record = 8–8
| conference = 2–5
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Jan 31, 1981
| opponent = Ohio State
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 60–54
| record = 9–8
| conference = 3–5
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 5, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Michigan
| site_stadium = Crisler Arena
| site_cityst = Ann Arbor, MI
| gamename = Rivalry
| score = 77–79
| record = 9–9
| conference = 3–6
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 7, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Ohio State
| site_stadium = St. John Arena
| site_cityst = Columbus, OH
| score = 62–73
| record = 9–10
| conference = 3–7
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 12, 1981
| opponent = Purdue
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 48–63
| record = 9–11
| conference = 3–8
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 14, 1981
| opponent = Michigan
| opprank = 13
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| gamename = Rivalry
| score = 70–66
| record = 10–11
| conference = 4–8
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 19, 1981
| opponent = Wisconsin
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 74–65
| record = 11–11
| conference = 5–8
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 21, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Illinois
| opprank = 15
| site_stadium = Assembly Hall
| site_cityst = Champaign, IL
| score = 62–82
| record = 11–12
| conference = 5–9
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 26, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Northwestern
| site_stadium = Welsh-Ryan Arena
| site_cityst = Evanston, IL
| score = 74–61
| record = 12–12
| conference = 6–9
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Feb 28, 1981
| away = yes
| opponent = Minnesota
| site_stadium = Williams Arena
| site_cityst = Minneapolis, MN
| score = 89–92
| record = 12–13
| conference = 6–10
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Mar 5, 1981
| opponent = Iowa
| opprank = 8
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 71–70
| record = 13–13
| conference = 7–10
}}
{{CBB schedule entry
| date = Mar 7, 1981
| opponent = Indiana
| opprank = 14
| site_stadium = Jenison Field House
| site_cityst = East Lansing, MI
| score = 48–69
| record = 13–14
| conference = 7–11
}}
{{CBB schedule end
|poll=AP Poll,
|timezone=Central Time
Source{{Cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/michigan-state/1981-schedule.html|title=1980-81 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results}}
}}
Awards and honors
- Jay Vincent – All-Big Ten First Team
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Michigan State Spartans men's basketball navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1980-81 Michigan State Spartans Men's Basketball Team}}
Category:Michigan State Spartans men's basketball seasons