1980-1981 UAB Blazers Men's Basketball team
The 1980-1981 UAB Blazers men's basketball team represented UAB as a member of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1980-81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.
The Blazers were coached by Gene Bartow and played their home games at BJCC Coliseum in the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.
The Blazers finished the regular season with a 19-7 overall and finished in a three way tie for 1st place in the Sun Belt with a 9-3 in conference play. At the conference tournament in Jacksonville, Florida 3rd seeded UAB defeated 6th seed UNCC (80-64) & 2nd seed South Alabama (86-59) to advance to the Championship against top seed VCU for the second year in a row. In a thrilling game, the once again fell to the Rams (61-62).
UAB was awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, receiving the 7th seed in the Mideast Region. The Blazers first two ever NCAA games took place at Memorial Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL. In the first round, UAB was matched up with 10 seed Western Kentucky. The Blazers cruised by the Hilltoppers 93-68 to setup a rematch with 2 seed Kentucky, who had defeated UAB 61-53 in a December game played in Lexington, KY. The Blazers exacted revenge for the regular season loss, defeating the Wildcats 69-62. The victory propelled UAB to its first Sweet Sixteen, an amazing accomplishment for a third year program.
The Mideast Regional was played in Bloomington, Indiana. UAB squared off with the host and 3rd seed Indiana Hoosiers in the regional semi-finals. The Hoosiers and the highly partisan crowd proved too much to overcome and the Blazers season ended with a hard fought 87-72 loss to the eventual national champions. After the game, Indiana Coach Bob Knight praised the Blazers in an interview with Sports Illustrated: "Those UAB kids will have my undying respect for how hard they played the game."
The Blazers Sweet Sixteen appearance and its final 23-9 record put UAB basketball on the national basketball map.
Schedule/Results
Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
November 29 | MacMurray Highlanders | 96-56 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
December 3 | Butler Bulldogs | 87-58 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
December 6 | Ole Miss Rebels | 72-83 | Oxford, MS | |
December 8 | Texas-Arlington Mavericks | 67-54 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
December 11 | Roosevelt Lakers | 112-55 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
December 13 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 70-58 | Pittsburgh, PA | |
December 16 | Missouri Western Golden Griffons | 107-54 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
December 19 | Idaho State Bengals | 68-55 | Lexington, KY | UK Invitational |
December 20 | Kentucky Wildcats | 53-61 | Lexington, KY | UK Invitational |
December 23 | Iowa State Cyclones | 70-71 | Ames, IA | |
December 29 | Rice Owls | 78-60 | Birmingham Coliseum | UAB Classic |
December 30 | Southern Miss Golden Eagles | 60-55 | Birmingham Coliseum | UAB Classic |
January 3 | Jacksonville Dolphins | 73-55 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
January 10 | Virginia Commonwealth Rams | 67-65 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
January 17 | South Florida Bulls | 77-79 | Tampa, FL | |
January 24 | Jacksonville Dolphins | 76-64 | Jacksonville, FL | |
January 29 | South Florida Bulls | 70-53 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
January 31 | South Alabama Jaguars | 73-70 | Birmingham Coliseum | * Sun Belt Conference record crowd of 16,131. |
February 2 | Georgia State Panthers | 85-67 | Atlanta, GA | |
February 5 | Georgia State Panthers | 89-64 | Birmingham Coliseum | |
February 7 | DePaul Blue Demons | 66-77 | Rosemont, IL | |
February 12 | North Carolina-Charlotte 49ers | 73-57 | Charlotte, NC | |
February 15 | Virginia Commonwealth Rams | 69-79 | Richmond, VA | |
February 18 | South Alabama Jaguars | 57-77 | Mobile, AL | |
February 22 | North Carolina-Charlotte 49ers | Birmingham Coliseum | ||
February 24 | Samford Bulldogs | 92-67 | align=center|Birmingham Coliseum | |
February 27 | North Carolina-Charlotte 49ers | 80-64 | Jacksonville, FL | Sun Belt Quarter-Finals |
February 28 | South Alabama Jaguars | 86-59 | Jacksonville, FL | Sun Belt Semi-Finals |
March 1 | Virginia Commonwealth Rams | 61-62 | Jacksonville, FL | Sun Belt Championship |
March 13 | Western Kentucky Hilltoppers | 93-86 | Tuscaloosa, AL | NCAA Mideast Regional - First Round |
March 15 | Kentucky Wildcats | 69-62 | Tuscaloosa, AL | NCAA Mideast Regional - Second Round |
March 20 | Indiana Hoosiers | 72-87 | Bloomington, IN | NCAA Mideast Regional Semi-Finals |
Coaching Staff
Name | Position | Seasons at UAB |
---|---|---|
Gene Bartow | Head coach | 3rd |
Lee Hunt | Associate coach | 3rd |
Oscar Catlin | Assistant coach | 2nd |
Robert Corn | Graduate Assistant coach | 2nd |