1980–81 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team represented the University of Mississippi in the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rebels were led by fifth-year head coach, Bob Weltlich. The Rebels played their home games at Tad Smith Coliseum in Oxford, Mississippi as members of the Southeastern Conference. This season marked the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.

1980–81 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball
SEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	16–14 (8–10 SEC)
Head coach	Bob Weltlich (5th season)
Home arena	Tad Smith Coliseum
Seasons ← 1979–80 1981–82 →

1980–81 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 LSU	17	–	1		.944			31	–	5		.861
No. 8 Kentucky	15	–	3		.833			22	–	6		.786
No. 15 Tennessee	12	–	6		.667			21	–	8		.724
Alabama	10	–	8		.556			18	–	11		.621
Georgia	9	–	9		.500			19	–	12		.613
Ole Miss †	8	–	10		.444			16	–	14		.533
Vanderbilt	7	–	11		.389			15	–	14		.517
Florida	5	–	13		.278			12	–	16		.429
Auburn	4	–	14		.222			11	–	16		.407
Mississippi State	3	–	15		.167			8	–	19		.296
† 1981 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
December 1980*		Central Arkansas	W 82–50	1–0	Tad Smith Coliseum (2,352) Oxford, MS
December 3, 1980*		at Tennessee Tech	W 59–56	2–0	Eblen Center (3,800) Cookeville, TN
December 6, 1980*		UAB	W 83–72	3–0	Tad Smith Coliseum (3,928) Oxford, MS
December 10, 1980*		at Mercer	W 70–58	4–0	Porter Gym (3,145) Macon, GA
December 17, 1980*		at Bowling Green	L 76–79	4–1	Anderson Arena (3,249) Bowling Green, OH
December 19, 1980*		vs. Jacksonville Dayton Invitational Tournament	W 59–50	5–1	UD Arena (9,344) Dayton, OH
December 20, 1980*		at Dayton Dayton Invitational Tournament	L 70–72	5–2	UD Arena (10,021) Dayton, OH
December 23, 1980		at Georgia	L 62–70	5–3 (0–1)	Stegeman Coliseum (6,570) Athens, GA
December 30, 1980*		Memphis State	L 64–69	5–4	Tad Smith Coliseum (7,209) Oxford, MS
January 3, 1981		Auburn	W 46–45	6–4 (1–1)	Tad Smith Coliseum (4,016) Oxford, MS
January 7, 1981		at No. 13 Tennessee	L 68–73	6–5 (1–2)	Stokely Athletic Center (12,700) Knoxville, TN
January 10, 1981		Alabama	L 48–74	6–6 (1–3)	Tad Smith Coliseum (7,003) Oxford, MS
January 14, 1981		at No. 3 Kentucky	L 55–64	6–7 (1–4)	Rupp Arena (23,525) Lexington, KY
January 17, 1981		at Florida	L 71–74	6–8 (1–5)	O'Connell Center (6,815) Gainesville, FL
January 21, 1981		Vanderbilt	W 46–44	7–8 (2–5)	Tad Smith Coliseum (4,819) Oxford, MS
January 24, 1981		at Mississippi State	W 59–52 OT	8–8 (3–5)	Humphrey Coliseum (7,820) Starkville, MS
January 28, 1981		No. 4 LSU	L 59–63	8–9 (3–6)	Tad Smith Coliseum (7,309) Oxford, MS
January 31, 1981		at Auburn	W 61–58	9–9 (4–6)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum (4,881) Auburn, AL
February 4, 1981		No. 10 Tennessee	W 71–52	10–9 (5–6)	Tad Smith Coliseum (7,823) Oxford, MS
February 7, 1981		at Alabama	L 49–51	10–10 (5–7)	Coleman Coliseum (9,236) Tuscaloosa, AL
February 11, 1981		No. 11 Kentucky	L 55–62	10–11 (5–8)	Tad Smith Coliseum (9,321) Oxford, MS
February 14, 1981		Florida	W 66–52	11–11 (6–8)	Tad Smith Coliseum (5,489) Oxford, MS
February 18, 1981		at Vanderbilt	L 50–52	11–12 (6–9)	Memorial Gymnasium (14,782) Nashville, TN
February 21, 1981		Mississippi State	W 72–61	12–12 (7–9)	Tad Smith Coliseum (8,079) Oxford, MS
February 25, 1981		at No. 2 LSU	L 67–74	12–13 (7–10)	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (15,694) Baton Rouge, LA
February 28, 1981		Georgia	W 64–62	13–13 (8–10)	Tad Smith Coliseum (6,108) Oxford, MS
SEC tournament
March 5, 1981  TVS	(6)	vs. (3) No. 10 Tennessee	W 81–71	14–13	Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center (10,072) Birmingham, AL
March 6, 1981  TVS	(6)	vs. (7) Vanderbilt	W 71–51	15–13	Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center (10,112) Birmingham, AL
March 7, 1981  TVS	(6)	vs. (5) Georgia	W 66–62	16–13	Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center (9,743) Birmingham, AL
NCAA tournament
March 13, 1981	(10 MW)	vs. (7 MW) Kansas	L 66–69	16–14	Levitt Arena (10,666) Wichita, KS
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source: ^[2]

References

1. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
2. "1980-81 Ole Miss Rebels Schedule and Results".