1981 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NCAA Basketball Conference Tournament |
| Year=1981
| Conference = Southland Conference
| Division = I
| Gender = Men's
| FirstTournamentEver= yes
| Image =
| ImageSize = 200px
| Caption =
| Teams = 6
| 1stRoundArena=Campus Sites
| 1stRoundCity=Campus Arenas
| FinalArena =Beaumont Civic Center
| FinalCity = Beaumont, TX
| Champions = {{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=Lamar Cardinals|title=Lamar}}
| TitleCount = 1st
| Coach =Pat Foster
| CoachCount = 1st
| MVP = Mike Olliver
| MVPTeam = {{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=Lamar Cardinals|title=Lamar}}
}}
{{1980–81 Southland Conference men's basketball standings}}
The 1981 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament was held from March 3 to March 5 at a combination of on-campus gymnasiums and the Beaumont Civic Center in Beaumont, Texas.{{cite web| title=1980-81 Southland Conference Season Summary| work =sports-reference.com| publisher =Sports Reference LLC| year=2016| url =https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/southland/1981.html | accessdate =April 30, 2016}} This was the first edition of the tournament.
Lamar defeated {{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=Louisiana Tech Bulldogs|title=Louisiana Tech}} in the championship game, 83–69, to win their first Southland men's basketball tournament.
The Cardinals, in turn, received a bid to the 1981 NCAA Tournament. They were the only Southland member invited to the NCAA tournament. Regular season runner-up Texas–Arlington received an invitation to the 1981 NIT Tournament.
Format
All six of the conference's members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with the top two teams earning byes into the semifinal round. The other four teams entered into the preliminary first round. A third-place game was held on the last day.
First Round games were played at the home court of the higher-seeded team. All remaining games were played at the Beaumont Civic Center in Beaumont, Texas, the home court of regular season champion Lamar.
Bracket
{{3RoundBracket-Byes
| RD1 = First round
Tuesday, March 3
| RD2 = Semifinals
Wednesday, March 4
| RD3 = Championship
Thursday, March 5
| RD3b = Third Place
Thursday, March 5
| RD1-seed3=5
| RD1-team3={{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=Arkansas State Red Wolves|title=Arkansas State}}
| RD1-score3=73
| RD1-seed4=4
| RD1-team4={{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns|title=SW Louisiana}}
| RD1-score4=91
| RD1-seed5=3
| RD1-team5={{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=Texas–Arlington Mavericks|title=Texas–Arlington}}
| RD1-score5=74
| RD1-seed6=6
| RD1-team6={{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=McNeese State Cowboys|title=McNeese State}}
| RD1-score6=79
| RD2-seed1=1
| RD2-team1={{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=Lamar Cardinals|title=Lamar}}
| RD2-score1=83
| RD2-seed2=4
| RD2-team2=SW Louisiana
| RD2-score2=68
| RD2-seed3=6
| RD2-team3=McNeese State
| RD2-score3=52
| RD2-seed4=2
| RD2-team4={{cbb link|1980|sex=men|team=Louisiana Tech Bulldogs|title=Louisiana Tech}}
| RD2-score4=64
| RD3-seed1=1
| RD3-team1=Lamar
| RD3-score1=83
| RD3-seed2=2
| RD3-team2=Louisiana Tech
| RD3-score2=69
| RD3-seed3=4
| RD3-team3=SW Louisiana
| RD3-score3=79
| RD3-seed4=6
| RD3-team4=McNeese State
| RD3-score4=73
}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Southland Conference men's basketball tournament navbox}}
{{1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament navbox}}
Category:Southland Conference men's basketball tournament
Southland Conference men's basketball tournament
Southland Conference men's basketball tournament
Category:College basketball tournaments in Texas