1980–81 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team

1980–81 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball
1980–81 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball
ECC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	East Coast Conference
Record	25–8 (9–2 ECC)
Head coach	Jim Lynam (3rd season);
Assistant coach	Jim Boyle
Home arena	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse

1980–81 ECC men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
American	11	–	0	1.000	24	–	6	.800
†	9	–	2	.818	25	–	8	.758
Temple	9	–	2	.818	20	–	8	.714
La Salle	8	–	3	.727	14	–	13	.519
Drexel	6	–	5	.545	14	–	13	.519
Hofstra	5	–	6	.455	12	–	15	.444
West
Lafayette	8	–	8	.500	15	–	13	.536
Rider	8	–	8	.500	14	–	14	.500
Bucknell	6	–	10	.375	12	–	16	.429
Lehigh	6	–	10	.375	14	–	12	.538
Delaware	3	–	13	.188	6	–	19	.240
West Chester	2	–	14	.125	7	–	20	.259

† 1981 ECC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 1980–81 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represented Saint Joseph's University as a member of the East Coast Conference during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by 3rd-year head coach Jim Lynam, the Hawks finished with an overall record of 25–8 (9–2 in ECC play). Saint Joseph's won the ECC tournament, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 9 seed in the Mideast region. The team defeated No. 8 seed Creighton, No. 1 seed DePaul, and No. 5 seed Boston College^[1] to reach the Elite Eight. The Hawks fell to No. 3 seed and eventual National champion Indiana in the regional final – a game that was played on the Hoosiers' home court.^[2]

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
F	Boo Williams	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Sr
G	Bryan Warrick	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Jr	Burlington Township, New Jersey
F	John Smith	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Sr
F	Lonnie McFarlan	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Fr
C	Tony Costner	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	—	Fr

Head coach

Jim Boyle

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 30, 1980*		Scranton	W 76–62	1–0	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1,765) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 2, 1980*		at Rider	W 71–55	2–0	Alumni Gymnasium (2,200) Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Dec 6, 1980*		West Chester	W 83–60	3–0	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1,052) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 9, 1980*		at Princeton	W 51–50 ^OT	4–0	Jadwin Gymnasium (2,210) Princeton, New Jersey
Dec 11, 1980*		at Cornell	W 42–39	5–0	Barton Hall (1,360) Ithaca, New York
Dec 13, 1980*		Jacksonville	W 45–40	6–0	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (4,012) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 27, 1980*		at Michigan State	L 67–71	6–1	Jenison Field House (6,953) East Lansing, Michigan
Dec 29, 1980*		vs. Bowling Green State	W 87–76	7–1	Cole Fieldhouse (13,211) College Park, Maryland
Dec 30, 1980*		at No. 9 Maryland	L 57–74	7–2	Cole Fieldhouse (13,779) College Park, Maryland
Jan 3, 1981*		Saint Francis (PA)	W 92–72	8–2	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1,722) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 7, 1981		at Bucknell	W 66–56	9–2 (1–0)	(2,000)
Jan 10, 1981*		at Jacksonville	W 44–42	10–2	(4,629)
Jan 13, 1981		at Lafayette	W 59–41	11–2 (2–0)	(2,500)
Jan 20, 1981		at Delaware	W 67–56	12–2 (3–0)	(894)
Jan 24, 1981*		UNC Charlotte	W 72–65	13–2	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (8,558) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 28, 1981*		Penn	W 63–61	14–2	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (6,990) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 31, 1981		La Salle	L 56–58	14–3 (3–1)	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (9,208) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 2, 1981*		Albright	W 88–56	15–3	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (746) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 6, 1981*		vs. No. 10 North Carolina North-South Doubleheaders	L 64–87	15–4	(10,782) Charlotte, North Carolina
Feb 7, 1981*		vs. NC State	L 42–47	15–5	Reynolds Coliseum (11,198) Raleigh, North Carolina
Feb 11, 1981		vs. Drexel	W 94–72	16–5 (4–1)	Palestra (4,412) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 14, 1981		vs. Temple	W 61–58	17–5 (5–1)	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (7,151) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 16, 1981		Lehigh	W 74–47	18–5 (7–1)	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (856) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
ECC Tournament
Mar 6, 1981*		Temple Quarterfinals	W 60–55	20–7	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 7, 1981*		vs. Lafayette Semifinals	W 73–63	21–7	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 8, 1981*		vs. American Championship game	W 63–60	22–7	The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1981*	(9 ME)	vs. (8 ME) Creighton First round	W 59–57	23–7	University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio
Mar 14, 1981*	(9 ME)	vs. (1 ME) No. 1 DePaul Second round	W 49–48^[3]	24–7	University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio
Mar 20, 1981*	(9 ME)	vs. (5 ME) Boston College Mideast Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 42–41	25–7	Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana
Mar 22, 1981*	(9 ME)	vs. (3 ME) No. 9 Indiana Mideast Regional Final – Elite Eight	L 46–78^[2]	25–8	Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ME=Mideast.

^[4]

Rankings

^[5]

References

^ "St. Joseph's, Indiana Gain Mideast Final; Eagles Ousted 42-41". The New York Times. March 21, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "INDIANA GAINS FINAL FOUR, ROUTING ST. JOSEPH'S, 78-46". The New York Times. March 23, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
^ "Hawks' Upset of DePaul in 1981 Recognized as One of the Top Moments in March Madness History". Saint Joseph's University Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
^ "2018-19 Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Saint Joseph's Hawks. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 988–989. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1] "St. Joseph's, Indiana Gain Mideast Final; Eagles Ousted 42-41". The New York Times. March 21, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2023.

[ind-2] "INDIANA GAINS FINAL FOUR, ROUTING ST. JOSEPH'S, 78-46". The New York Times. March 23, 1981. Retrieved February 24, 2023.

[3] "Hawks' Upset of DePaul in 1981 Recognized as One of the Top Moments in March Madness History". Saint Joseph's University Athletics. Retrieved February 25, 2023.

[4] "2018-19 Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Saint Joseph's Hawks. Retrieved February 24, 2023.

[ESPN-5] *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 988–989. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball
Venues	Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (1949–2008) Palestra (2008–2009) Hagan Arena (2009–present)
Rivalries	Villanova
Culture & lore	The Hawk City 6 Gambling scandal Philadelphia Big 5 Big 5 Classic Robert V. Geasey Trophy Undefeated regular season
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics