1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team represented Creighton University during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bluejays, led by head coach Tom Apke, played their home games at the Omaha Civic Auditorium. The Jays finished with a 21–9 record (11–5 MVC), and won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament^[2] to earn an automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA tournament. As No. 8 seed in the Mideast region, the Jays fell to No. 9 seed Saint Joseph's in the opening round.^[3]

1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball
MVC tournament champion
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	21–9 (11–5 MVC)
Head coach	Tom Apke (7th season)
Home arena	Omaha Civic Auditorium
Seasons ← 1979–80 1981–82 →

1980–81 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Wichita State	12	–	4		.750			26	–	7		.788
Creighton †	11	–	5		.688			21	–	9		.700
Tulsa	11	–	5		.688			26	–	7		.788
Drake	10	–	6		.625			18	–	11		.621
Bradley	10	–	6		.625			18	–	9		.667
New Mexico State	7	–	9		.438			10	–	17		.370
West Texas State	7	–	9		.438			16	–	11		.593
Indiana State	4	–	12		.250			9	–	18		.333
Southern Illinois	0	–	16		.000			7	–	20		.259
† 1981 MVC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll^[1]

Roster

1980–81 Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 10 Mark Jones 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — So Corning Corning, Iowa G 30 Kevin McKenna 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr   Palatine, Illinois F 32 Alex Stivrins 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr   Lincoln, Nebraska F 41 George Morrow 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr   Memphis, Tennessee F/C 51 Kevin Ross 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Jr   Kansas City, Kansas	Head coach Tom Apke (Creighton) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster

^[4]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1980*		Wisconsin–Superior	W 92–59	1–0	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 2, 1980*		Nebraska–Omaha	W 79–72	2–0	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 6, 1980*		Nebraska	W 66–61 ^OT	3–0	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 8, 1980*		at Saint Louis	W 64–57	4–0	St. Louis Arena  St. Louis, Missouri
Dec 9, 1980*		Loyola–Chicago	W 82–74	5–0	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 12, 1980*		at Iowa State	W 77–73	6–0	Hilton Coliseum  Ames, Iowa
Dec 22, 1980*		Canisius	W 72–52	7–0	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 28, 1980*		at South Florida	L 62–77	7–1	Sun Dome  Tampa, Florida
Jan 3, 1981		Tulsa	W 97–86	8–1 (1–0)	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 8, 1981		at Southern Illinois	W 78–62	9–1 (2–0)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Jan 10, 1981		at Indiana State	W 62–61	10–1 (3–0)	Hulman Center  Terre Haute, Indiana
Jan 15, 1981*		Marquette	L 66–76	10–2	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 17, 1981		Bradley	W 54–51	11–2 (4–0)	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 19, 1981		at Drake	L 70–71	11–3 (4–1)	Veterans Memorial Auditorium  Des Moines, Iowa
Jan 22, 1981		Wichita State	L 72–77	11–4 (4–2)	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 24, 1981		West Texas A&M	W 86–69	12–4 (5–2)	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Jan 31, 1981		at Tulsa	L 84–87	12–5 (5–3)	Tulsa Convention Center  Tulsa, Oklahoma
Feb 2, 1981		Southern Illinois	W 50–43	13–5 (6–3)	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 5, 1981		Indiana State	W 65–62	14–5 (7–3)	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 7, 1981		at Bradley	L 80–93	14–6 (7–4)	Robertson Memorial Field House  Peoria, Illinois
Feb 9, 1981*		at No. 3 DePaul	L 57–83	14–7	Rosemont Horizon  Rosemont, Illinois
Feb 14, 1981		New Mexico State	W 95–83	15–7 (8–4)	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 19, 1981		Drake	W 73–69	16–7 (9–4)	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Feb 21, 1981		at No. 14 Wichita State	L 70–83	16–8 (9–5)	Levitt Arena  Wichita, Kansas
Feb 26, 1981		at West Texas A&M	W 90–86	17–8 (10–5)	WT Fieldhouse  Canyon, Texas
Feb 28, 1981		at New Mexico State	W 84–78	18–8 (11–5)	Pan American Center  Las Cruces, New Mexico
Missouri Valley Conference tournament
Mar 5, 1981*		Indiana State Quarterfinals	W 64–61	19–8	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Mar 6, 1981*		Tulsa Semifinals	W 66–64	20–8	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Mar 7, 1981*		at Wichita State Championship game	W 70–64	21–8	Levitt Arena  Wichita, Kansas
1981 NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1981*	(8 ME)	vs. (9 ME) Saint Joseph's First round	L 57–59	21–9	University of Dayton Arena  Dayton, Ohio
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideest. All times are in Central.

^[5]

References

1. sports-reference.com 1980-81 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
2. "Creighton 68, Southwest Missouri State 52". UPI Archives. March 6, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
3. "Bluejays Flatten Feeble Aggies as N.M. Makes Another 1st-Round Exit". Deseret News. March 15, 1991. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
4. "1980-81 Creighton Bluejays Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
5. "2019-20 Creighton Men's Basketball Media Guide". Creighton Bluejays. Retrieved February 25, 2023.