1980–81 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team represented Wichita State University in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the University of Wichita Field House. They were in their 36th season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and 75th season overall. They were led by head coach Gene Smithson in his third season at the school. They finished the season 26–7, 12–4 in Missouri Valley play to finish in first place. They received a bid to the 1981 NCAA Tournament and advanced to the regional finals before falling to LSU.

1980–81 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball
MVC regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record26–7 (12–4 MVC)
Head coach
Home arenaLevitt Arena (10,506)
Seasons
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]
Coach Smithson celebrates after the Shockers upset Iowa in the NCAA tournament.

Roster

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1980–81 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
C 0 Ozell Jones 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Long Beach, California
G 3 James Gibbs 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Mount Vernon, New York
G 10 Zoran Radović 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Belgrade, Yugoslavia
G 21 Tony Martin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Willingboro, New Jersey
F 32 Jay Jackson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Valley Falls, Kansas
G/F 33 Mike Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Joliet, Illinois
F 35 Antoine Carr 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Wichita, Kansas
F 40 Karl Papke 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Wichita, Kansas
F 41 Mike Denny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Midland, Texas
G 44 Randy Smithson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Normal, Illinois
F 45 Eric Kuhn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Wichita, Kansas
C 50 Žarko Đurišić 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Titograd, Yugoslavia
F/C 54 Cliff Levingston 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr San Diego, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[2]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1980*
Abilene Christian W 101–60  1–0
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Dec 1, 1980*
Hardin-Simmons W 105–46  2–0
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Dec 5, 1980*
McNeese State
McDonald's Classic
W 91–66  3–0
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Dec 6, 1980*
Colorado State
McDonald's Classic
W 53–34  4–0
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Dec 8, 1980*
Long Beach State W 80–61  5–0
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Dec 13, 1980*
Louisiana-Monroe W 82–63  6–0
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Dec 17, 1980*
Denver W 93–60  7–0
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Dec 20, 1980*
at Oral Roberts W 83–61  8–0
Mabee Center 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Dec 23, 1980*
at Texas-Rio Grande Valley L 82–83  8–1
UTPA Fieldhouse 
Edinburg, Texas
Jan 3, 1981*
Iona W 77–46  9–1
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Jan 10, 1981
at Tulsa L 84–91  9–2
(0–1)
Tulsa Convention Center 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jan 12, 1981
West Texas A&M W 100–85  10–2
(1–1)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Jan 15, 1981
New Mexico State W 74–68  11–2
(2–1)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Jan 17, 1981
Southern Illinois W 73–47  12–2
(3–1)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Jan 22, 1981
at Creighton W 77–72  13–2
(4–1)
Omaha Civic Auditorium 
Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 7, 1981
Drake W 79–67  17–2
(8–1)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Feb 9, 1981
at Southern Illinois W 81–61  18–2
(9–1)
SIU Arena 
Carbondale, Illinois
Feb 12, 1981
Bradley W 87–65  19–2
(10–1)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Feb 16, 1981
Tulsa L 72–74  19–3
(10–2)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Feb 19, 1981
at New Mexico State L 60–82  19–4
(10–3)
Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Feb 21, 1981
Creighton W 83–70  20–4
(11–3)
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Feb 26, 1981
at Bradley W 70–57  21–4
(12–3)
Robertson Memorial Field House 
Peoria, Illinois
Feb 28, 1981
No. 19 at Indiana State L 72–75  21–5
(12–4)
Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana
MVC tournament
Mar 5, 1981*
Southern Illinois
Quarterfinal
W 77–57  22–5
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Mar 6, 1981*
Drake
Semifinal
W 88–74  23–5
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Mar 7, 1981*
Creighton
Championship Game
L 64–70  23–6
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
1981 NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1981*
(6 MW) vs. (11 MW) Southern
First round
W 95–70[3]  24–6
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Mar 15, 1981*
(6 MW) vs. (3 MW) No. 13 Iowa
Second Round
W 60–56[4]  25–6
Levitt Arena 
Wichita, Kansas
Mar 20, 1981*
(6 MW) vs. (7 MW) Kansas
Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 66–65  26–6
Louisiana Superdome 
New Orleans, Louisiana
Mar 22, 1981*
(6 MW) vs. (1 MW) No. 4 Louisiana State
Midwest Regional final – Elite Eight
L 85–96  26–7
Louisiana Superdome 
New Orleans, Louisiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Central Time.

[5]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP19161419
Coaches20191518

[6][7]

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1980-81 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1980-81 Men's Basketball Roster". Wichita State University Athletics. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  3. ^ "Northeastern Advances in West Regional". The New York Times. March 14, 1981. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
  4. ^ "Wichita St. ends Iowa's title dream". Chicago Tribune. March 16, 1981. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  5. ^ "2019-20 Wichita State Men's Basketball Fact Book" (PDF). Wichita State University Athletics. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  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.
  7. ^ "1980-81 College Basketball Polls". Sports Reference. Retrieved November 9, 2020.