1980–81 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team

The 1980–81 Wyoming Cowboys basketball team represented the University of Wyoming as a member of the Western Athletic Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cowboys, led by second-year head coach Jim Brandenburg, played their home games at War Memorial Fieldhouse in Laramie, Wyoming.

1980–81 Wyoming Cowboys basketball
WAC co-champions
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 17
Record24–6 (13–3 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaWar Memorial Fieldhouse
Seasons
1980–81 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Utah 13 3   .813 25 5   .833
No. 17 Wyoming 13 3   .813 24 6   .800
No. 16 BYU 12 4   .750 25 7   .781
UTEP 9 7   .563 18 12   .600
San Diego State 8 8   .500 15 12   .556
Hawaii 7 9   .438 14 13   .519
New Mexico 6 10   .375 11 15   .423
Air Force 3 13   .188 9 18   .333
Colorado State 1 15   .063 3 24   .111
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

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1980–81 Wyoming Cowboys men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G Charles Bradley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Edgewood Edgewood, Maryland
F Bill Garnett 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Regis Jesuit Denver, Colorado
C Chris Engler 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Minnesota Oak Park Heights, Minnesota
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 28, 1980*
at Nebraska W 62–59 OT 1–0
Bob Devaney Sports Center (7,800)
Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 2, 1980*
Midwestern State W 87–61  2–0
War Memorial Fieldhouse (4,389)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 4, 1980*
Stanford W 73–51  3–0
War Memorial Fieldhouse (5,079)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 6, 1980*
Adams State W 101–67  4–0
War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,042)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 11, 1980*
at Boise State W 76–51  5–0
Bronco Gym (2,076)
Boise, Idaho
Dec 13, 1980*
at USC L 57–59  5–1
L.A. Sports Arena (3,270)
Los Angeles, California
Dec 16, 1980*
Western Montana W 79–45  6–1
War Memorial Fieldhouse (4,713)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 19, 1980*
vs. Oklahoma W 98–77  7–1
Astrodome (3,800)
Houston, Texas
Dec 20, 1980*
at Houston L 61–70  7–2
Astrodome (5,300)
Houston, Texas
Dec 29, 1980*
Illinois–Chicago W 99–47  8–2
War Memorial Fieldhouse (4,419)
Laramie, Wyoming
Jan 2, 1981
at San Diego State W 69–51  9–2
(1–0)
San Diego Sports Arena (3,247)
San Diego, California
Jan 5, 1981
at Hawaii W 71–66 OT 10–2
(2–0)
Neal S. Blaisdell Center (5,479)
Honolulu, Hawaii
Jan 9, 1981*
UTEP W 44–42  11–2
(3–0)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (8,107)
Laramie, Wyoming
Jan 10, 1981
New Mexico W 91–54  12–2
(4–0)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,814)
Laramie, Wyoming
Jan 17, 1981
at Colorado State W 85–54  13–2
(5–0)
Moby Arena (8,976)
Fort Collins, Colorado
Jan 23, 1981
at No. 14 Utah L 53–55  13–3
(5–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,122)
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 24, 1981
at No. 18 BYU L 70–84  13–4
(5–2)
Marriott Center (22,983)
Provo, Utah
Jan 27, 1981*
UNLV W 71–66  14–4
War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,124)
Laramie, Wyoming
Jan 31, 1981
Air Force W 69–45  15–4
(6–2)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,234)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 5, 1981
Hawaii W 77–58  16–4
(7–2)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,998)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 7, 1981
San Diego State W 102–57  17–4
(8–2)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (7,991)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 12, 1981
at New Mexico L 56–57  17–5
(8–3)
University Arena (15,803)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 14, 1981
at UTEP W 63–58  18–5
(9–3)
Special Events Center (8,121)
El Paso, Texas
Feb 21, 1981
Colorado State W 68–40  19–5
(10–3)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (8,665)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 26, 1981
No. 15 BYU W 86–84  20–5
(11–3)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (9,300)
Laramie, Wyoming
Feb 28, 1981
No. 7 Utah W 53–50  21–5
(12–3)
War Memorial Fieldhouse (8,974)
Laramie, Wyoming
Mar 6, 1981
No. 19 at Air Force W 46–38  22–5
(13–3)
Clune Arena (6,300)
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Mar 7, 1981*
No. 19 at UNLV W 97–70  23–5
Las Vegas Convention Center (6,393)
Las Vegas, Nevada
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1981*
(5 W) No. 17 vs. (12 W) Howard
First round
W 78–43[2]  24–5
Pauley Pavilion (12,045)
Los Angeles, California
Mar 14, 1981*
(5 W) No. 17 vs. (4 W) No. 19 Illinois
Second round
L 65–67[3]  24–6
Pauley Pavilion (12,340)
Los Angeles, California
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.

[4][5]

Rankings

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[6]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1980-81 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "Stone-Cold Howard Gets Baptism by Fire". The Washington Post. March 14, 1981. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
  3. ^ "Illinois 67, Wyoming 65". The New York Times. March 15, 1981. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  4. ^ "1980-81 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Wyoming Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
  5. ^ "1980-1981 Wyoming Cowboys Men's Basketball Stats" (PDF). NCAA Career Statistics.
  6. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 877–878. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.