1980–81 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 1980–81 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by head coach Bill Bibb, played their home games at Hawkins Arena on the university's Macon, Georgia, campus and were members of the Trans America Athletic Conference. They finished the season 18–12, 7–4 in TAAC play to finish third in the regular season standings. They won the TAAC tournament to earn the conferences automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, they were beaten by No. 5 seed Arkansas in the opening round.

1980–81 Mercer Bears men's basketball
TAAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
ConferenceTrans America Athletic Conference
Record18–12 (7–4 TAAC)
Head coach
  • Bill Bibb
Home arenaHawkins Arena
1980–81 Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Houston Christian93 .7501810  .643
NE Louisiana84 .6671513  .536
Mercer74 .6361812  .600
Centenary75 .5831612  .571
Arkansas–Little Rock56 .4551313  .500
Samford56 .4551017  .370
Northwestern State57 .4171117  .393
Hardin-Simmons48 .333918  .333
Georgia Southern29 .182522  .185
1981 TAAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1980–81 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
F Tony Gattis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) So
Head coach
  • Bill Bibb
Assistant coach(es)

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

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Regular season
    Dec 2, 1980*
    at No. 10 North Carolina L 74–89  0–1
    Carmichael Auditorium 
    Chapel Hill, North Carolina
    TAAC tournament
    Mar 5, 1981*
    vs. Arkansas–Little Rock
    Quarterfinals
    W 78–69  16–11
    Hirsch Memorial Coliseum 
    Shreveport, Louisiana
    Mar 6, 1981*
    vs. Northeast Louisiana
    Semifinals
    W 59–55  17–11
    Hirsch Memorial Coliseum 
    Shreveport, Louisiana
    Mar 8, 1981*
    vs. Houston Christian
    Championship game
    W 72–67  18–11
    Hirsch Memorial Coliseum 
    Shreveport, Louisiana
    NCAA tournament
    Mar 12, 1981*
    (12 MW) vs. (5 MW) No. 20 Arkansas
    First round
    L 67–73  18–12
    Frank Erwin Center 
    Austin, Texas
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll, (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region MW=Midwest. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Eastern Time.

    [1]

    References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.