1950 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1950 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 13th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.[1]

1950 (1950) NAIA men's basketball tournament
Teams32
Finals siteMunicipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
ChampionsIndiana State (1st title, 3rd title game,
4th Fab Four)
Runner-upEast Central State (1st title game,
1st Fab Four)
Semifinalists
Chuck Taylor MVPClemens "Lenny" Rzeszewski (Indiana State)
NAIA men's tournaments
«1949 1951»

The championship game featured Indiana State and East Central State. It was the first time these two teams had met in the tournament history. The Sycamores defeated the Tigers, 61-57.

This would be Indiana State's highest finish in their 12 career appearances in the NAIA tournament. Winning the championship puts them in a unique group to place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Also Indiana State finally gets a win after 2 times as runner-up. Uniquely, Indiana State has finished as the National Runner-up in the NAIA (1946 and 1948), the NCAA Division I (1979) and the NCAA Division II (1968) tournaments.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1950 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
  • All-Tournament Team: Len Rzeszewski, Dan Dimich, Don McDonald - Indiana State; Stacey Howell, Claude Overton - East Central (Okla)
  • Coach of the Year est. 1954
  • Player of the Year est. 1994
  • All-time scoring leaders; first appearance: Lloyd Thorgaard, 10th, Hamline (Minn.) (1950,51,52,53), 15 games, 111 field goals, 61 free throws, 283 total points, 18.9 average per game; James Fritsche, 14th, Hamline (Minn.) (1950,51,52,53), 15 games, 113 field goals, 46 free throws, 272 total points, 18.1 average per game.
  • All-time scoring leader; final appearance: Harold Haskins, 12th, Hamline (Minn.) (1947,48,49,50), 14 games, 104 field goals, 72 free throws, 280 total points, 20.0 average per game.[2]

Bracket
First round Second round Elite Eight NAIA national semifinals NAIA national championship
          
Hamline 74
Regis 66
Hamline 66
Central College 76
Central (MO) 68
Peru State 59
Central College 65
TOP TIER
Central Washington State 55
Portland 48
Montana 47
Portland 43
Central Washington State 51
Central Washington State 61
Murray State 55
Central College 54
East Central State 57
Brooklyn 79
Appalachian State 75
Brooklyn 64
Puget Sound 47
Puget Sound 70
Southeastern Louisiana 68*
Brooklyn 52
TOP TIER
East Central State 84
East Central State (OK) 70
Kansas Wesleyan 68
East Central State 75
River Falls State 64
River Falls State) 80
Eastern Illinois State 68
East Central State 57
Indiana State 61
Westminster (PA) 70
Connecticut Teachers 62
Westminster 75
Davis & Elkins 85
Davis & Elkins 79
St. Thomas (MN) 55
Davis & Elkins 69
BOTTOM TIER
Tampa 81
Tampa 85
New Mexico A&M 75
Tampa 69
Pepperdine 61
Pepperdine 54
American 53
Tampa 69
Indiana State 73
East Texas State 55
South Dakota 54
East Texas State 62
Baldwin-Wallace 82
Baldwin-Wallace 84 NAIA third-place game
Kalamazoo 83
Baldwin-Wallace 39 Central College 80
BOTTOM TIER
Indiana State 61 Tampa 67
Arkansas Tech 75
Morningside 74
Arkansas Tech 79
Indiana State 87
Indiana State 65
Delta State 59
  •  *  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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