1980–81 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team

1981 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament The 1980–81 Princeton Tigers men's basketball team represented Princeton University in intercollegiate college basketball during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Pete Carril and the team co-captains were David Blatt and Randy Melville.

The team posted an 18–10 overall record and a 14–1 conference record. The team's only conference loss came on February 24, 1981, against the Penn Quakers at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by a 52–43 margin. The team won its March 10, 1981, one-game Ivy League playoff game against Penn at the Kirby Sports Center at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, by a 54–40 margin for the Ivy League Championship and an invitation to the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The team lost its March 12, 1981 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament East Regional first-round game against the BYU Cougars 60–51 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

The team was led by first team All-Ivy League selection Melville. Melville tied Michael Steurer's Ivy League single-game record set on February 6, 1976, with eight steals against the on December 21, 1980, which was a record that would stand until March 5, 1983. Steurer and Melville continue to share the Princeton single game record. The team achieved a 54.9% field goal percentage in conference games, which is the current Ivy League single-season record.