1951 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1951 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 14th Annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.[1]

1951 (1951) NAIA men's basketball tournament
Teams32
Finals siteMunicipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
ChampionsHamline (3rd title, 3rd title game,
5th Fab Four)
Runner-upMillikin (1st title game,
1st Fab Four)
Semifinalists
Chuck Taylor MVPScotty Steagall (Millikin (Ill.))
NAIA men's tournaments
«1950 1952»

The championship game featured Hamline and Millikin. It was the first meeting between these two schools in tournament history. The Pipers of Hamline defeated the Big Blue of Millikin, 69–61.

The 1951 Tournament would be Hamline's 5th trip to the NAIA Final Four, and second tournament win, it was also Millikin's only trip to championship game, NAIA Final Four, and first of eventually four tournament berths. The other teams that rounded out the semifinals were Baldwin-Wallace and Regis. The Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets defeated the Regis Rangers, 82–78.

Hamline's win put them on the leader board for most tournament champions with 3. A record that would last until Tennessee State would win in consecutive years. (1957, 1958, 1959.) Three Championships would be a tournament record until 1996 when Oklahoma City won its 4th Championship Title.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1951 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:

  • Leading Scorer Award est. 1963
  • Leading Rebounder Award est. 1963
  • Charles Stevenson Hustle Award est. 1958
  • Coach of the Year est. 1954
  • Player of the Year est. 1994
  • All-time scoring leaders; second 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.[2]

Bracket
First round Second round Elite Eight NAIA national semifinals NAIA national championship
          
Evansville 85
Westminster (PA) 74
Evansville 75
Morningside 62
Morningside 66
Providence (RI) 63
Evansville 68
TOP TIER
Regis 70
Regis 72
East Central State (OK) 55
Regis 82
Southwest Texas State 64
Southwest Texas State 70
Morehead State 62
Regis 70
Millikin 88
Millikin 77
Eastern New Mexico 63
Millikin 80
East Texas Baptist 62
East Texas Baptist 67
High Point 64
Millikin 91
TOP TIER
Florida State 60
Pepperdine 86
Eau Claire State 53
Pepperdine 59
Florida State 61
Florida State 85
South Dakota State 70
Millikin 61
Hamline 69
Hamline 82
Rocky Mountain 57
Hamline 64
Arkansas Tech 52
Arkansas Tech 64
Pacific (CA) 61
Hamline 80
BOTTOM TIER
New Mexico A&M 56
Central (MO) 68
Southeastern Louisiana 66
Central 69
New Mexico A&M 73
New Mexico A&M 68
Glenville State 54
Hamline 78
Baldwin-Wallace 62
Baldwin-Wallace 67
American 66
Baldwin-Wallace 68
Ottawa 67
Ottawa (KS) 73 NAIA third-place game
Hillsdale 58
Baldwin-Wallace 90 Baldwin-Wallace 82
BOTTOM TIER
Memphis State 67 Regis 78
Memphis State 76
Portland 74
Memphis State 81
Hastings 79*
Hastings 71
Pacific Lutheran 51
  •  * 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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