1981 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament

1981 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1980–81
Teams	8
First round site	Campus Sites Campus Arenas
Finals site	Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO
Champions	Kansas (1st title)
Winning coach	Ted Owens (1st title)
MVP	Darnell Valentine (Kansas)
Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournaments

The 1981 Big Eight Men's Basketball Tournament was held March 3–5 at a combination of on-campus gymnasiums and the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

In a rematch of the 1980 final (won by KSU), Kansas upset rivals Kansas State in the championship game, 80–68, to win their first Big Eight men's basketball tournament.

The Jayhawks, in turn, received an automatic bid to the 1981 NCAA Tournament. They were joined in the tournament by fellow Big Eight members Missouri and Kansas State, who earned at-large bids.

Format

All eight of the conference's members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with all teams placed and paired in the initial quarterfinal round.

All first-round games were played on the home court of the higher-seeded team. The semifinals and championship game, in turn, were played at a neutral site at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals Tuesday, March 3					Semifinals Wednesday, March 4					Championship Thursday, March 5
	1	Missouri	95
	8	Iowa State	70
						1	Missouri	70
						4	Kansas	75
	5	Oklahoma State	69
	4	Kansas	96
											4	Kansas	80
											2	Kansas State	68
	3	Nebraska	66
	6	Colorado	70
						6	Colorado	61
						2	Kansas State	64
	7	Oklahoma	56
	2	Kansas State	75