1981 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1981 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament of the Ohio Valley Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was held March 5–6, 1981. The semifinals and finals took place at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Top seed Western Kentucky won the tournament, defeating Murray State in the championship game, and received the Ohio Valley's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Hilltoppers drew a 10 seed in the Mideast region, facing the 7 seed UAB.

1981 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1980–81
Teams4
SiteE. A. Diddle Arena
Bowling Green, Kentucky
ChampionsWestern Kentucky Hilltoppers (10th title)
Winning coachClem Haskins (1st title)
← 1980
1982 →
1980–81 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Western Kentucky 12 2   .857 21 8   .724
Murray State 10 4   .714 17 10   .630
Middle Tennessee 9 5   .643 18 9   .667
Austin Peay 7 7   .500 14 13   .519
Eastern Kentucky 7 7   .500 10 16   .385
Akron 5 9   .357 8 18   .308
Morehead State 4 10   .286 11 15   .423
Tennessee Tech 2 12   .143 6 20   .231
1981 OVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Format

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The top four eligible men's basketball teams in the Ohio Valley Conference received a berth in the conference tournament. After the 14-game conference season, teams were seeded by conference record. The bottom four teams in the standings did not participate.

Bracket

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Semifinals
March 5
Finals
March 6
      
1 Western Kentucky 92
4 Austin Peay 71
1 Western Kentucky 81
2 Murray State 67
3 Middle Tennessee 60
2 Murray State 62

[1]

References

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  1. ^ "1980-81 Ohio Valley Conference Season Summary". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 24, 2023.