The 1980 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball.

Darrell Griffith of Louisville was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Five coaches from teams in the Eastern bracket (Jim Boeheim, John Thompson, Lute Olson, Rick Pitino and Rollie Massimino) would later win their first (and in Pitino's case, the first of more than one) national championship.

UCLA would forfeit its second place in the standings in 1980 after players representing the school were declared ineligible by the NCAA.

[2] The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1980 tournament: First and Second Rounds Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) National semifinals, 3rd-place game, and championship (Final Four and championship) * – Denotes overtime period.