1979–80 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

The 1979–80 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team represented the University of South Alabama during the 1979–80 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by head coach Cliff Ellis, in his fifth year as head coach. They played their home games at the Mobile Civic Center, and were members of the Sun Belt Conference. South Alabama finished the season 23–6, 12–2 in Sun Belt play to finish in first place. They were upset by Jacksonville in the Sun Belt tournament, but did receive an at-large bid to the 1980 NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the Midwest region. In the opening round, the Jaguars lost to Alcorn State, 70–62.

Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Regular season

!colspan=9 style=| Sun Belt Conference tournament

!colspan=9 style=| NCAA tournament