1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team

1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball
1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball
NCAA tournament, 3rd Place Great Lakes Regional
Record	25–4 ( )
Head coach	Ralph Underhill (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Jim Brown; Bob Grote;
Home arena	WSU PE Building
	Seasons ← 1979–80 1981–82 →

The 1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team represented Wright State University in the 1980–81 NCAA NCAA Division II men's basketball season led by head coach Ralph Underhill.

Season summary

Expectations were high for 1980–81 as the 80s began with an upgraded schedule.^[1] Results were equally as high, producing a 24–3 regular season with the only disappointment being a fourth early NCAA tournament exit.

Roster

1980–81 Wright State Raiders men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	24	Rodney Benson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Cleveland St. (TN)	Louisville, Kentucky
F	25	Jeff Bragg	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Marion	Marion, Indiana
G	34	Eddie Crowe	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Carlisle	Carlisle, Ohio
C	42	Steve Hartings	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Sr	Marion Local	Maria Stein, Ohio
F	45	Leon Manning	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Northwest	Indianapolis
G	20	Keith Miller	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Cleveland St. (TN)	Louisville, Kentucky
F	44	Roman Welch	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	S. Plantation	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
G	32	Mike Zimmerman	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Alter	Kettering, Ohio
F	23	Tom Holzapfel	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Greenville	Greenville, Ohio
F	33	Theron Barbour	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Fr	Atherton	Louisville, Kentucky
F		Phil Benninger	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Fr	New Albany	New Albany, Indiana
F	30	Mike Grote	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Fr	Elder	Cincinnati, Ohio
G		T.C. Johnson	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	—	Fr	Sidney	Sidney, Ohio
G	35	Steve Purcell	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Fr	Kokomo	Kokomo, Indiana
G	22	Barry Turner	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS Fr	Wilmington	Wilmington, Ohio

Head coach

Ralph Underhill

Assistant coach(es)

Jim Brown, Bob Grote

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Source^[2] ^[3]

^[4]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 29, 1980	Wilberforce	W 111–72	1–0	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Dec 1, 1980	Miami Ohio	W 92–84	2–0	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Dec 3, 1980	Bolling Green	W 81–68	3–0	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Dec 6, 1980	Wayne State	W 86–65	4–0	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Dec 10, 1980	at St. Leo	W 124–77	5–0	St. Leo, Florida
Dec 17, 1980	at Bellarmine	W 85–76	6–0	Knights Hall Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 20, 1980	District of Columbia	W 76–63	7–0	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Dec 22, 1980	Eastern Illinois	W 81–73	8–0	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Jan 3, 1981	IUPUI	W 81–61	9–0	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Jan 7, 1981	at Indiana Central	W 68–61	10–0	Nicoson Hall Indianapolis
Jan 10, 1981	Marian (IN)	W 87–67	11–0	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Jan 12, 1981	vs. Central State	W 72–58	12–0	UD Arena Dayton, Ohio
Jan 14, 1981	at St. Joseph’s (IN)	L 80–87	12–1	Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, Indiana
Jan 17, 1980	Northern Kentucky	W 90–76	13–1	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Jan 21, 1981	Bellarmine	L 84–87	13–2	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Jan 24, 1981	SIU Edwardsville	W 81–65	14–2	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Jan 28, 1981	St. Joseph’s (IN)	W 107–79	15–2	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Jan 31, 1981	at Northern Kentucky	W 107–79	16–2	Regents Hall Highland Heights, Kentucky
Feb 4, 1981	at Youngstown State	W 66–59	17–2	Beeghly Center Youngstown, OH
Feb 7, 1981	at Eastern Illinois	L 63–72	17–3	Lantz Fieldhouse Charleston, Illinois
Feb 10, 1981	vs. Central State	W 77–62	18–3	UD Arena Dayton, Ohio
Feb 12, 1981	vs. Kentucky Wesleyan	W 78–60	19–3	Owensboro, Kentucky
Feb 18, 1981	Indiana Central	W 92–57	20–3	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Feb 21, 1981	Siena Heights	W 86–74	21–3	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Feb 21, 1981	Spring Arbor	W 101–62	22–3	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Feb 25, 1981	New York Tech	W 69–61	23–3	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
Feb 27, 1981	Kentucky Wesleyan	W 96–76	24–3	WSU PE Building Fairborn, OH
NCAA tournament
Mar 6, 1981	Northern Michigan NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional	L 64–73	24–4	Western Hall Macomb, Illinois
Mar 7, 1981	Indiana State–Evansville NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional	W 88–85	25–4	Western Hall Macomb, Illinois
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.

Source^[5]

Awards and honors

Rodney Benson	MVP
Rodney Benson	All-American Div-II
Roman Welch	All-American Div-II
Steve Hartings	Raider Award

^[6]

Statistics

Number	Name	Games	Average	Points	Assists	Rebounds
24	Rodney Benson	28	21.9	612	55	229
44	Roman Welch	28	15.1	422	74	184
42	Steve Hartings	29	11.0	319	83	170
34	Eddie Crowe	29	10.9	315	116	72
29	Keith Miller	26	6.4	185	90	61
25	Jeff Bragg	28	5.8	163	57	42
35	Steve Purcell	28	4.6	129	31	75
23	Tom Holzapfel	4	4.5	18	0	8
45	Leon Manning	26	3.8	100	16	77
32	Mike Zimmerman	28	2.7	75	49	47
33	Theron Barbour	21	2.6	54	13	47
30	Mike Grote	16	2.0	32	11	10
_	Phil Benninger	5	1.4	7	1	12
22	Barry Turner	9	1.1	10	2	12

Source^[7]

References

^ Paul, Meyer (October 15, 1980). "Wright State gets its just 'desserts'". The Journal Herald. Vol. 173, no. 248. Journal Herald Inc. p. 10.
^ Paul, Meyer (October 15, 1980). "Wright State gets its just 'desserts'". The Journal Herald. Vol. 173, no. 248. Journal Herald Inc. p. 10.
^ Paul, Rolphes (October 15, 1980). "Wright State looks good on paper". Dayton Daily News. Vol. 104, no. 35. Cox Media. p. 21.
^ Nuhn, Gary (October 25, 1970). "WSU Now Enjoying Luxury of Working on Big Floor". Dayton Daily News. Vol. 94, no. 47. Cox Media. p. 13 D.
^ "Wright State Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
^ "Wright State Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved October 23, 2023.
^ "1979-80 Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved October 28, 2023.

[1] Paul, Meyer (October 15, 1980). "Wright State gets its just 'desserts'". The Journal Herald. Vol. 173, no. 248. Journal Herald Inc. p. 10.

[2] Paul, Meyer (October 15, 1980). "Wright State gets its just 'desserts'". The Journal Herald. Vol. 173, no. 248. Journal Herald Inc. p. 10.

[3] Paul, Rolphes (October 15, 1980). "Wright State looks good on paper". Dayton Daily News. Vol. 104, no. 35. Cox Media. p. 21.

[4] Nuhn, Gary (October 25, 1970). "WSU Now Enjoying Luxury of Working on Big Floor". Dayton Daily News. Vol. 94, no. 47. Cox Media. p. 13 D.

[5] "Wright State Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved October 23, 2023.

[6] "Wright State Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved October 23, 2023.

[7] "1979-80 Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved October 28, 2023.

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v t e Wright State Raiders men's basketball
Venues	WSU Physical Education Building (1970–1990) Nutter Center (1990–present)
Rivalries	Dayton
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 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
NCAA national championship in bold