| 1945 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 16 |
| Finals Site | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Champions | Loyola New Orleans (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Fab Four) |
| Runner-Up | Pepperdine (1st title game, 1st Fab Four) |
| Semifinalists | Eastern Kentucky Southern Illinois |
| Chuck Taylor MVP | Fred Lewis (Eastern Kentucky) |
The 1945 NAIA Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 8th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 16 teams playing in a single-elimination format, [1] instead of the normal 32. It is the only tournament to feature only 16 teams.
The NAIA Semifinals featured four new teams for the first time since the inaugural year, 1937. The championship game featured Loyola New Orleans defeating Pepperdine 49–35.
Many of the records set by the 1945 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:
| First Round | Elite Eight | NAIA National Semifinals | NAIA National Championship | ||||||||||||
| Central (MO) | 54 | ||||||||||||||
| Eau Claire | 36 | ||||||||||||||
| Central (MO) | 48* | ||||||||||||||
| Eastern Kentucky | 50 | ||||||||||||||
| Eastern Kentucky | 64 | ||||||||||||||
| Simpson | 42 | ||||||||||||||
| Eastern Kentucky | 34 | ||||||||||||||
| TOP TIER | |||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 52 | ||||||||||||||
| West Texas State | 54 | ||||||||||||||
| Wichita State | 43 | ||||||||||||||
| West Texas State | 45 | ||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 52 | ||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 77 | ||||||||||||||
| Peru State | 42 | ||||||||||||||
| Pepperdine | 35 | ||||||||||||||
| Loyola New Orleans | 49 | ||||||||||||||
| Central Normal (IN) | 53 | ||||||||||||||
| Catawba | 39 | ||||||||||||||
| Central Normal | 43 | ||||||||||||||
| Loyola New Orleans | 50 | ||||||||||||||
| Loyola New Orleans | 53 | ||||||||||||||
| Phillips | 31 | ||||||||||||||
| Loyola New Orleans | 37 | ||||||||||||||
| BOTTOM TIER | |||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois | 35 | ||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois | 64 | NAIA Third Place Game | |||||||||||||
| Washburn | 49 | ||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois | 61 | Eastern Kentucky | 45 | ||||||||||||
| Doane | 44 | Southern Illinois | 49 | ||||||||||||
| Doane | 54 | ||||||||||||||
| Eastern Washington State | 51 | ||||||||||||||
The 1938 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2nd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. This was the first tournament to expand to 32 teams. The tournament featured the only forfeit in tournament history when Western Kentucky University forfeited to Simpson College (Iowa) due to not showing up. The first-round game between Delta State University (Miss.) and Drury College (Mo.) gave the first overtime in tournament history. Delta State beat Drury College 52 to 51 in one overtime.
The 1939 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 3rd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. This was also the year the NCAA basketball tournament was started. This tournament also featured the lowest-scoring game in tournament history between Loras College (Iowa) and Central Missouri State University, the two-time champions. Loras scored a total of 16 points, a tournament low as well, Central Missouri State won the game with a total score of 20. The total combined score of the game was 36, resulting in the all-time lowest scoring game in tournament history.
The 1940 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 4th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. This year the National College Basketball Tournament (NCBT) changed its name to the National Association for Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB).
The 1943 NAIA Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 7th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured Southeast Missouri State defeating Northwest Missouri State 34–32.
The 1946 NAIA Men's 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. The championship game was won by Southern Illinois University when the Salukis defeated the Indiana State University Sycamores 49-40.
The 1947 National Association for Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) National Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 10th annual men's basketball tournament of what is now the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. It would be the first time since 1945 the NAIA Semifinalist would feature four new teams. Becoming the 3rd tournament to do so, and a feat that would not be repeated until 1965.
The 1948 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 11th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured Louisville beating Indiana State 82-70.
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The 1951 NAIA Men's 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. The championship game featured Hamline University (Minn.) and Millikin University (Ill.). It was the first meeting between these two schools in tournament history. The Pipers of Hamline defeated the Big Blue of Millikin 69 to 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 (Ohio) and Regis University (Colo.). The Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets defeated the Regis Rangers 82 to 78.
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