1979–80 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team

1979–80 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceBig Eight Conference
Record22–9 (8–6 Big Eight)
Head coach
Assistant coachLon Kruger (1st season)
Home arenaAhearn Field House
1979–80 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 16 Missouri 11 3   .786 25 6   .806
Kansas State 8 6   .571 22 9   .710
Nebraska 8 6   .571 18 13   .581
Kansas 7 7   .500 15 14   .517
Colorado 7 7   .500 17 10   .630
Oklahoma 6 8   .429 15 12   .556
Iowa State 5 9   .357 11 16   .407
Oklahoma State 4 10   .286 10 17   .370
1980 Big Eight tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979–80 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University as a member of the Big Eight Conference in the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jack Hartman and played their home games at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas. The Wildcats, poised to win the conference regular season after winning 8 of 10 to begin Big Eight play, finished second in the conference regular season standings. K-State rebounded to win the Big Eight tournament and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 7 seed in the Midwest region. The Wildcats beat No. 10 seed Arkansas in the opening round, then fell to No. 2 seed and eventual National champion Louisville, 71–69 in overtime. Kansas State finished with a record of 22–9 (8–6 Big Eight).