Overall: 11-16, .407 W-L% (192nd of 264)
Conference: 5-13, 9th in Big Ten (Schedule and Results)
Coach: Bill Cofield (11-16)
PS/G: 64.4 (209th of 264) ▪ PA/G: 68.6 (106th of 264)
SRS: 5.07 (68th of 264) ▪ SOS: 9.22 (10th of 264)
| G | Date | Type | Opponent | Conf | Tm | Opp | OT | W | L | Streak | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mon, Dec 1, 1980 | REG | @ | Alabama | SEC | L | 75 | 90 | 0 | 1 | L 1 | |
| 2 | Tue, Dec 9, 1980 | REG | Ball State | MAC | W | 85 | 72 | 1 | 1 | W 1 | ||
| 3 | Fri, Dec 12, 1980 | REG | @ | Davidson | Southern | L | 63 | 67 | 1 | 2 | L 1 | |
| 4 | Sat, Dec 13, 1980 | REG | @ | Charlotte | Sun Belt | W | 71 | 63 | 2 | 2 | W 1 | |
| 5 | Mon, Dec 22, 1980 | REG | Texas Southern | SWAC | W | 58 | 49 | 3 | 2 | W 2 | ||
| 6 | Wed, Dec 31, 1980 | REG | Central Michigan | MAC | W | 69 | 62 | 4 | 2 | W 3 | ||
| 7 | Thu, Jan 8, 1981 | REG | @ | Minnesota | Big Ten | L | 60 | 76 | 4 | 3 | L 1 | |
| 8 | Sat, Jan 10, 1981 | REG | @ | Northwestern | Big Ten | L | 48 | 50 | 4 | 4 | L 2 | |
| 9 | Thu, Jan 15, 1981 | REG | Iowa | Big Ten | L | 66 | 76 | 4 | 5 | L 3 | ||
| 10 | Sat, Jan 17, 1981 | REG | Purdue | Big Ten | L | 69 | 71 | 4 | 6 | L 4 | ||
| 11 | Thu, Jan 22, 1981 | REG | Michigan State | Big Ten | W | 63 | 62 | 5 | 6 | W 1 | ||
| 12 | Sat, Jan 24, 1981 | REG | @ | Illinois | Big Ten | W | 54 | 45 | 6 | 6 | W 2 | |
| 13 | Thu, Jan 29, 1981 | REG | @ | Ohio State | Big Ten | L | 67 | 71 | 6 | 7 | L 1 | |
| 14 | Sat, Jan 31, 1981 | REG | Michigan | Big Ten | L | 67 | 74 | 6 | 8 | L 2 | ||
| 15 | Thu, Feb 5, 1981 | REG | @ | Indiana | Big Ten | L | 64 | 89 | 6 | 9 | L 3 | |
| 16 | Sat, Feb 7, 1981 | REG | @ | Michigan | Big Ten | L | 64 | 71 | 6 | 10 | L 4 | |
| 17 | Thu, Feb 12, 1981 | REG | Illinois | Big Ten | L | 65 | 84 | 6 | 11 | L 5 | ||
| 18 | Sat, Feb 14, 1981 | REG | Indiana | Big Ten | L | 52 | 59 | 6 | 12 | L 6 | ||
| 19 | Thu, Feb 19, 1981 | REG | @ | Michigan State | Big Ten | L | 65 | 74 | 6 | 13 | L 7 | |
| 20 | Sat, Feb 21, 1981 | REG | Ohio State | Big Ten | W | 77 | 63 | 7 | 13 | W 1 | ||
| 21 | Thu, Feb 26, 1981 | REG | @ | Purdue | Big Ten | L | 61 | 72 | 7 | 14 | L 1 | |
| 22 | Sat, Feb 28, 1981 | REG | @ | Iowa | Big Ten | L | 75 | 96 | 7 | 15 | L 2 | |
| 23 | Thu, Mar 5, 1981 | REG | Northwestern | Big Ten | W | 60 | 57 | 8 | 15 | W 1 | ||
| 24 | Sat, Mar 7, 1981 | REG | Minnesota | Big Ten | W | 60 | 58 | 9 | 15 | W 2 | ||
| 25 | Tue, Mar 10, 1981 | REG | Marquette | Ind | L | 53 | 64 | 9 | 16 | L 1 |