1980–81 Long Island Blackbirds men's basketball team

1980–81 Long Island Blackbirds men's basketball
1980–81 Long Island Blackbirds men's basketball
ECAC Metro tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	ECAC Metro
Record	18–11 ( ECAC-M)
Head coach	Paul Lizzo (7th season);
Home arena	Schwartz Athletic Center
	Seasons ← 1979–80 1981–82 →

The 1980–81 Long Island Blackbirds men's basketball team represented Long Island University during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blackbirds, led by head coach Paul Lizzo, played their home games at the Schwartz Athletic Center and were members of the ECAC Metro Conference. They finished the season 18–11. The Blackbirds won the ECAC Metro tournament to earn an automatic bid in the 1981 NCAA tournament where they lost in the opening round to VCU, 85–69.^[1]

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
F	40	Riley Clarida	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Jr	Brooklyn, New York

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Dec 2, 1980*		Drexel	W 80–68	1–0	Schwartz Athletic Center Brooklyn, New York
ECAC Metro tournament
Mar 5, 1981*	(5)	at (4) Wagner	W 89–78	16–10	Sutter Gymnasium Staten Island, New York
Mar 6, 1981*	(5)	vs. (1) Fordham	W 85–78^[3]	17–10	Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, New York
Mar 7, 1981*	(5)	vs. (6) Iona	W 77–72^[4]	18–10	Nassau Coliseum Uniondale, New York
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1981*	(12 E)	vs. (5 E) VCU First round	L 69–85^[1]	18–11	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

v t e LIU Sharks men's basketball
Venues	Schwartz Athletic Center (1962–2005) Steinberg Wellness Center (2006–present) Barclays Center (2012–present; alternate)
Rivalries	St. Francis Brooklyn
Culture & lore	Point-shaving scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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 1951–57 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 1980–81 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
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold