1981 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1981 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from February 28–March 7, 1981. The quarterfinal round was hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals were hosted at the Roanoke Civic Center in Roanoke, Virginia. The Chattanooga Mocs, led by head coach Murray Arnold, won their first Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1981 NCAA tournament.

Format
The top eight finishers of the conference's nine members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket
* Overtime game