1981 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament explained

Year:1981
Conference:Big Eight Conference
Division:I
Gender:Men's
Teams:8
1Stroundarena:Campus Sites
1Stroundcity:Campus Arenas
Finalarena:Kemper Arena
Finalcity:Kansas City, MO
Champions:Kansas
Titlecount:1st
Coach:Ted Owens
Coachcount:1st
Mvp:Darnell Valentine
Mvpteam:Kansas

The 1981 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 3–5 at a combination of on-campus gymnasiums and Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.[1]

In a rematch of the 1980 final (won by KSU), Kansas upset rivals Kansas State in the championship game, 80–68, to win their first Big Eight men's basketball tournament.

The Jayhawks, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA tournament. They were joined in the tournament by fellow Big Eight members Missouri and Kansas State, who earned at-large bids.

Format

All eight of the conference's members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with all teams placed and paired in the initial quarterfinal round.

All first-round games were played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. The semifinals and championship game, in turn, were played at a neutral site at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1980-81 Big 8 Conference Season Summary. sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2016. May 10, 2016.