Standings
| Overall | Conference | Points Per Game | SRS | Polls | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | W | L | T | Pct | W | L | T | Pct | Off | Def | SRS | SOS | AP Pre | AP High | AP Rank | Notes |
| Drake | 10 | 1 | 0 | .909 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | 22.9 | 17.8 | 0.52 | -6.57 | ||||
| Tulsa | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | 27.6 | 17.8 | 4.81 | -0.20 | ||||
| Southern Illinois | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 21.3 | 15.8 | -1.71 | -5.53 | ||||
| West Texas State | 7 | 4 | 0 | .636 | 3 | 3 | 0 | .500 | 22.5 | 19.4 | 0.32 | -2.41 | ||||
| Wichita State | 4 | 6 | 1 | .409 | 3 | 3 | 1 | .500 | 23.6 | 22.0 | -3.24 | -3.06 | ||||
| Indiana State | 5 | 5 | 1 | .500 | 2 | 4 | 1 | .357 | 22.5 | 14.9 | -2.96 | -7.14 | ||||
| New Mexico State | 3 | 8 | 0 | .273 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | 14.3 | 26.0 | -14.98 | -5.43 | ||||
| Illinois State | 3 | 7 | 0 | .300 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 14.5 | 19.0 | -13.78 | -10.18 | ||||
1981 Conference Leaders