1945 NAIA basketball tournament

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.

1945 NAIA men's basketball tournament
Teams16
Finals siteMunicipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
ChampionsLoyola New Orleans (1st title, 1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Runner-upPepperdine (1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Semifinalists
MVPFred Lewis (Eastern Kentucky)
NAIA men's basketball tournament
«1944 1946»

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. Loyola New Orleans would not go on to win another NAIA national title until 2022, 77 years later.

Awards and honors

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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

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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-pace game
Washburn 49
Southern Illinois 61 Eastern Kentucky 45
Doane 44 Southern Illinois 49
Doane 54
Eastern Washington State 51
  •  * denotes overtime.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NAIA.org". Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  2. ^ NAIA Championship History Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine