1961 NAIA basketball tournament

1961
MVP
	Charles Hardnett (Grambling)
NAIA men's basketball tournament
«1960	1962»

The 1961 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at

Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.^[1]

The championship game featured the 13th seeded Grambling and the third seeded Georgetown. For the first time since seeding, in 1958, the third-place game featured the first and second seeds, Northern Michigan, and Westminster.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1961 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:

Leading scorer: est. 1963

Leading rebounder: est. 1963

Player of the Year: est. 1994

All-time leading scorer; first appearance: Willis Reed, 16th Grambling (1961,63,64), 12 games 108 field goals 39 free throws 265 total points, 22.8 average per
All-time leading scorer; second appearance: Hershell West, 15th Grambling (1960,61,63), 13 games, 116 field goals, 37 free throws, 269 total points, 20.7 average per game.^[2]

1961 NAIA bracket

First round			Second round			Elite Eight			NAIA national semifinals			NAIA national championship

1	Westminster (PA)	68

-	Arkansas State Teachers	60
			1	Westminster (PA)	85

			16	Newberry	73
-	Simpson	58

16	Newberry	64
						1	Westminster (PA)	35
TOP TIER
						9	Winston-Salem State	33
9	Winston-Salem State	95

-	Westminster (UT)	70
			9	Winston-Salem State	86

			-	West Virginia State	76
-	West Virginia State	90

8	Whitworth	89
									1	Westminster (PA)	44

									13	Grambling	45
5	Anderson (IN)	85

-	St. Bernard	77
			5	Anderson (IN)	86

			12	Emporia State	81*
-	Northern State	72

12	Emporia State	77
						5	Anderson (IN)	54
TOP TIER
						13	Grambling	62
13	Grambling	107

-	Linfield	85
			13	Grambling	80

			-	Peru State	60
-	Peru State	72

4	Oglethorpe	65
												13	Grambling	95

												3	Georgetown (KY)	75
3	Georgetown (KY)	88

-	Western Montana	76
			3	Georgetown (KY)	59

			14	Redlands	57
-	Savannah State	80

14	Redlands	89
						3	Georgetown (KY)	84
BOTTOM TIER
						7	Central State (OK)	83
-	Gustavus Adolphus	63

10	Illinois Wesleyan	79
			10	Illinois Wesleyan	62

			7	Central State (OK)	84
7	Central State (OK)	80

-	St. Norbert	73
									3	Georgetown (KY)	101

									2	Northern Michigan	67
-	East Texas Baptist	70

6	Steubenville	68
			-	East Texas Baptist	59

			11	Southwest Texas State	61
11	Southwest Texas State	70

-	Central Connecticut State	59
						11	Southwest Texas State	75
BOTTOM TIER
						2	Northern Michigan	80
15	Maryland State	74

-	Missouri Valley	89
			-	Missouri Valley	63

			2	Northern Michigan	79
-	Carson–Newman	60

2	Northern Michigan	69

* denotes overtime.

Third-place game

The third-place game featured the losing teams from the national semifinalist to determine third and fourth places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.

NAIA third-place game

1	Westminster (PA)	84

2	Northern Michigan	101

References

^ "NAIA.org". Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
^ NAIA Championship History Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine

[1] "NAIA.org". Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2020.

[2] NAIA Championship History Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine

[1]

Awards and honors

1961 NAIA bracket

Third-place game

See also

References