1980–81 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

1980–81 Houston Cougars men's basketball
SWC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	21–9 (10–6 SWC)
Head coach	Guy Lewis (25th season)
Assistant coaches	Terry Kirkpatrick Don Schverak
Home arena	Hofheinz Pavilion

1980–81 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 20 Arkansas	13	–	3		.813			24	–	8		.750
Houston †	10	–	6		.625			21	–	9		.700
Baylor	10	–	6		.625			15	–	12		.556
Texas Tech	8	–	8		.500			15	–	13		.536
Texas A&M	8	–	8		.500			15	–	12		.556
Texas	7	–	9		.438			15	–	15		.500
Rice	7	–	9		.438			12	–	15		.444
TCU	6	–	10		.375			11	–	18		.379
SMU	3	–	13		.188			7	–	20		.259
† 1981 SWC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1980–81 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in NCAA Division I competition in the 1980–81 season.

Houston, coached by Guy Lewis, played its home games in the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas, and was then a member of the Southwest Conference.

Roster

1980–81 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown C 50 Dan Bunce 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Conroe HS Conroe, TX C 52 David Bunce 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Conroe HS Conroe, TX G 12 Eric Davis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Senn HS Chicago, IL F 22 Clyde Drexler 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Sterling HS Houston, TX F/C 40 Larry Micheaux 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Worthing HS Houston, TX G 10 Rodney Parker 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Davis HS Houston, TX G 24 Dave Rose 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Dixie College Houston, TX G 00 Lynden Rose 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Springs HS Nassau, Bahamas G 20 Rob Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Milby HS Houston, TX F 42 Michael Young 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Yates HS Houston, TX	Head coach Guy Lewis (Houston) Assistant coach(es) Terry Kirkpatrick Don Schverak Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1980*		Texas A&I	W 112–86	1–0	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Dec 1, 1980*		USC	W 71–54	2–0	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Dec 6, 1980*		at Biscayne	L 74–76	2–1	Unknown  Miami Gardens, Florida
Dec 9, 1980*		Texas Wesleyan	W 93–84	3–1	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Dec 13, 1980*		Pan American	W 84–70	4–1	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Dec 16, 1980*		Pepperdine	W 94–81	5–1	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Dec 19, 1980*		Army Kettle Classic	W 88–58	6–1	Houston Astrodome  Houston, Texas
Dec 20, 1980*		Wyoming Kettle Classic	W 70–61	7–1	Houston Astrodome  Houston, Texas
Dec 23, 1980*		at Nevada	W 86–71	8–1	Centennial Coliseum  Reno, Nevada
Dec 27, 1980*		at Alaska Anchorage	L 78–79	8–2	Unknown  Anchorage, Alaska
Jan 3, 1981		at Rice	W 62–57	9–2 (1–0)	Rice Gymnasium  Houston, Texas
Jan 6, 1981		Texas Tech	W 73–70	10–2 (2–0)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Jan 10, 1981		at Texas	W 91–71	11–2 (3–0)	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, Texas
Jan 13, 1981		at SMU	L 70–72 ^3OT	11–3 (3–1)	Moody Coliseum  University Park, Texas
Jan 17, 1981*		Lamar	W 70–64	12–3	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Jan 19, 1981		Arkansas	W 57–54	13–3 (4–1)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Jan 24, 1981		TCU	W 68–59	14–3 (5–1)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Jan 26, 1981		at Baylor	W 53–51	15–3 (6–1)	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
Jan 28, 1981		Texas A&M	W 76–71	16–3 (7–1)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Jan 31, 1981		at Texas Tech	L 70–81	16–4 (7–2)	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum  Lubbock, Texas
Feb 3, 1981		SMU	W 79–64	17–4 (8–2)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Feb 7, 1981		Texas	W 75–59	18–4 (9–2)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Feb 14, 1981		at Arkansas	L 55–70	18–5 (9–3)	Barnhill Arena  Fayetteville, Arkansas
Feb 17, 1981		at TCU	L 77–78 ^4OT	18–6 (9–4)	Daniel-Meyer Coliseum  Fort Worth, Texas
Feb 21, 1981		Baylor	L 68–70	18–7 (9–5)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Feb 24, 1981		Rice	W 63–55	19–7 (10–5)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Feb 28, 1981		at Texas A&M	L 77–78	19–8 (10–6)	G. Rollie White Coliseum  College Station, Texas
SWC Tournament
Mar 6, 1981*	(2)	vs. (8) TCU Semifinals	W 73–53	20–8	HemisFair Arena  San Antonio, Texas
Mar 7, 1981*	(2)	vs. (6) Texas Championship	W 84–59	21–8	HemisFair Arena  San Antonio, Texas
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1981*	(8 E)	vs. (9 E) Villanova First round	L 72–90[1]	21–9	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time.

^[2]

Rankings

Main article: 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

^[3]

References

1. "NCAA Roundup". UPI Archives. March 14, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
2. "1980-81 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Houston Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
3. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 878–879. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.