1946 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1946 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 9th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.[1]

1946 (1946) NAIA men's basketball tournament
Teams32
Finals siteMunicipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
ChampionsSouthern Illinois (1st title, 1st title game,
2nd Fab Four)
Runner-upIndiana State (1st title game,
1st Fab Four)
Semifinalists
Chuck Taylor MVPGene Stotlar (Southern Illinois)
NAIA men's tournaments
«1945 1947»

The championship game was won by Southern Illinois when the Salukis defeated the Indiana State Sycamores, 49-40.

Central Missouri State, the original National Champions, and first back-to-back National Champions, played in their final NAIA tournament, although they remained an NAIA member for another decade, leaving in the mid 1950s to join the NCAA. The Mules appeared seven tournaments recording an overall record of 13 wins and 6 losses. The Mules won two National Championships in 1937 and 1938 and finishing in 4th place in 1942.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1945 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:

  • Leading scorer est. 1963
  • Leading rebounder est. 1963
  • Charles Stevenson Hustle Award est. 1958
  • Coach of the Year est. 1954
  • Player of the Year est. 1994.[2]

Bracket
First round Second round Elite Eight NAIA national semifinals NAIA national championship
          
Loyola New Orleans 76
Hastings 48
Loyola New Orleans 60*
Arizona State-Flagstaff 56
Arizona State-Flagstaff 45
Rockhurst 37
Loyola New Orleans 54
TOP TIER
Drury 43
Drury 51
Eastern Kentucky 47
Drury 55
Augsburg 47
Augsburg 64
Washburn 36
Loyola New Orleans 37
Southern Illinois 53
Southern Illinois 49
Central Missouri State 39
Southern Illinois 58
Loras 55
Loras 57
Panzer 43
Southern Illinois 66
TOP TIER
Nevada 58
West Texas State 71
Eau Claire State 47
West Texas State 46
Nevada 60
Nevada 56
Morningside 40
Southern Illinois 49
Indiana State 40
Pepperdine 63
Arkansas State Teachers 37
Pepperdine 64
Iowa State Teachers 22
Iowa State Teachers 58
Montana State 42
Pepperdine 46
BOTTOM TIER
Eastern Washington State 42
Eastern Washington State 66
Louisiana Tech 44
Eastern Washington State 45
Southeastern State 37
Southeastern State (OK) 50
Peru State 36
Indiana State 56
Pepperdine 43
Houston 63
High Point 34
Indiana State 62
Houston 43
Indiana State 62 NAIA Third-place game
St. Cloud State 51
Indiana State 55 Pepperdine 82
BOTTOM TIER
Dakota Wesleyan 34 Loyola New Orleans 55
Culver–Stockton 55
Wichita State 51
Culver-Stockton 40
Dakota Wesleyan 41
Dakota Wesleyan 39
New Mexico Mines 36
  •  * denotes overtime.

See also

References
  1. "NAIA.org". Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  2. NAIA Championship History Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine
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