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1980–81 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

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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
Seasons
1980–81 Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Houston Baptist 9 3   .750 18 10   .643
NE Louisiana 8 4   .667 15 13   .536
Mercer 7 4   .636 18 12   .600
Centenary 7 5   .583 16 12   .571
Arkansas–Little Rock 5 6   .455 13 13   .500
Samford 5 6   .455 10 17   .370
Northwestern State 5 7   .417 11 17   .393
Hardin-Simmons 4 8   .333 9 18   .333
Georgia Southern 2 9   .182 5 22   .185
1981 TAAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll


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.

Roster

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1980–81 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
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

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 29, 1980*
St. Leo W 93–65  1–0
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Dec 2, 1980*
at No. 10 North Carolina L 74–89  1–1
Carmichael Auditorium 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Dec 6, 1980*
at Arkansas State L 52–67  1–2
Indian Field House 
Jonesboro, Arkansas
Dec 10, 1980*
Ole Miss L 58–70  1–3
Hawkins Arena (3,145)
Macon, Georgia
Dec 13, 1980*
Columbus State W 56–54  2–3
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Dec 15, 1980*
at Georgia State W 64–61  3–3
GSU Sports Arena 
Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 29, 1980*
vs. Southeastern Louisiana W 74–67  4–3
Maclellan Gymnasium 
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Dec 30, 1980*
at Chattanooga L 58–60 OT 4–4
Maclellan Gymnasium 
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Jan 5, 1981*
UNC Greensboro W 88–65  5–4
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Jan 8, 1981
Centenary L 72–77  5–5
(0–1)
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Jan 10, 1981
Arkansas–Little Rock W 71–57  6–5
(1–1)
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Jan 13, 1981*
at Tulane L 57–67  6–6
Devlin Fieldhouse 
New Orleans, Louisiana
Jan 17, 1981*
Georgia State W 84–69  7–6
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Jan 20, 1981
at Arkansas–Little Rock L 58–68  7–7
(1–2)
Barton Coliseum 
Little Rock, Arkansas
Jan 24, 1981
at Samford W 90–79  8–7
(2–2)
Seibert Hall 
Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 28, 1981*
Arkansas State W 91–69  9–7
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Jan 31, 1981*
Stetson L 62–63 OT 9–8
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Feb 5, 1981*
Charleston Southern W 74–64  10–8
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Feb 7, 1981
Georgia Southern W 105–70  11–8
(3–2)
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Feb 12, 1981*
at Stetson L 71–76  11–9
Edmunds Center 
DeLand, Florida
Feb 14, 1981
at Georgia Southern W 60–58 OT 12–9
(4–2)
Hanner Fieldhouse 
Statesboro, Georgia
Feb 16, 1981
Samford L 60–61  12–10
(4–3)
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Feb 19, 1981
Northwestern State W 94–66  13–10
(5–3)
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Feb 21, 1981
Hardin-Simmons W 93–78  14–10
(6–3)
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, Georgia
Feb 26, 1981
at Northeast Louisiana W 75–66  15–10
(7–3)
Fant–Ewing Coliseum 
Monroe, Louisiana
Feb 28, 1981
at Houston Baptist L 67–69  15–11
(7–4)
Sharp Gymnasium 
Houston, Texas
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 Baptist
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

[edit]
  1. ^ "1980-81 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2023.