1980 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1980 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from February 23–March 1, 1980. The quarterfinal round was hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals were hosted at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. The Furman Paladins, led by head coach Eddie Holbrook, won their sixth Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1980 NCAA tournament.

1980 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1979–80
Teams	8
Site	Roanoke Civic Center Roanoke, VA
Champions	Furman (6th title)
Winning coach	Eddie Holbrook (1st title)
Southern Conference men's basketball tournaments

1979–80 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Furman †	14	–	1		.933			23	–	7		.767
Marshall	10	–	6		.625			17	–	12		.586
Western Carolina	9	–	7		.563			17	–	10		.630
East Tennessee State	8	–	7		.533			15	–	13		.536
Chattanooga	7	–	9		.438			13	–	14		.481
Appalachian State	6	–	10		.375			12	–	16		.429
The Citadel	6	–	10		.375			14	–	13		.519
VMI	6	–	10		.375			11	–	16		.407
Davidson	4	–	11		.267			8	–	18		.308
† 1980 Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Format

The top eight finishers of the conference's nine members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals February 23					Semifinals February 29					Finals March 1
	1	Furman	87
	8	VMI	75
						1	Furman	93
						4	East Tennessee St.	81
	4	East Tennessee St.	71
	5	Chattanooga	67
											1	Furman	80
											2	Marshall	62
	2	Marshall	100
	7	The Citadel	66
						2	Marshall	91
						6	Appalachian State	76
	3	Western Carolina	66
	6	Appalachian State	67*

* Overtime game

See also

• List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions