1981 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1981 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from February 28–March 7, 1981. The quarterfinal round was hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals were hosted at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. The Chattanooga Mocs, led by head coach Murray Arnold, won their first Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1981 NCAA tournament.

1981 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1980–81
Teams	8
Site	Roanoke Civic Center Roanoke, VA
Champions	Chattanooga (1st title)
Winning coach	Murray Arnold (1st title)
Southern Conference men's basketball tournaments

1980–81 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Chattanooga †	11	–	5		.688			21	–	9		.700
Davidson	11	–	5		.688			13	–	14		.481
Appalachian State	11	–	5		.688			20	–	9		.690
East Tennessee State	9	–	7		.563			13	–	14		.481
Western Carolina	9	–	7		.563			18	–	10		.643
Furman	8	–	8		.500			11	–	16		.407
Marshall	8	–	8		.500			18	–	10		.643
VMI	3	–	13		.188			4	–	23		.148
The Citadel	2	–	14		.125			9	–	17		.346
† 1981 Southern Conference Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Format

The top eight finishers of the conference's nine members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals February 28					Semifinals March 6					Finals March 7
	1	Chattanooga	89
	8	VMI	63
						1	Chattanooga	79
						5	Western Carolina	70
	4	East Tennessee St.	80
	5	Western Carolina	91
											1	Chattanooga	59
											3	Appalachian State	55
	2	Davidson	77
	7	Marshall	90
						3	Appalachian State	77
						7	Marshall	62
	3	Appalachian State	75*
	6	Furman	71

* Overtime game

See also

• List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions