1979 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1979 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The 42nd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.

1979 NAIA men's basketball tournament

Season	1978–79
Teams	32
Finals site	Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Drury (1 title, 1 title game, 1 Final Four)
Runner-up	Henderson State (2 title game, 3 Final Four)
Semifinalists	Southwest Texas State (4 Final Four) Midwestern State (2 Final Four)
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award	Mike Carter (Drury)
MVP	Lawrence Washington (Drury)
NAIA men's basketball tournament «1978 1980»

Awards and honors

• Leading scorer:
• Leading rebounder:
• Player of the Year: est. 1994

1979 NAIA bracket

	First round					Second round					Elite Eight					NAIA national semifinals					NAIA national championship
	1	Cameron (Okla.)	76
	-	Central State (Ohio)	69
						1	Cameron	74*
						16	Tri-State	73
	-	Southern Maine	61
	16	Tri-State (Ind.)	84
											1	Cameron	73
	TOP TIER
											8	Southwest Texas State	77*
	9	St. John's (Minn.)	83*
	-	West Virginia Wesleyan	81
						9	St. John's	75
						8	Southwest Texas State	79
	-	Kentucky State	74
	8	Southwest Texas State	78
																8	Southwest Texas State	57
																5	Henderson State	58
	5	Henderson State (Ark.)	70
	-	Point Park (Pa.)	69
						5	Henderson State	84*
						12	Wisconsin-Eau Claire	78
	-	Central Wesleyan (S.C.)	48
	12	Wisconsin-Eau Claire	84
											5	Henderson State	70
	TOP TIER
											-	Quincy	69
	13	Southern Tech (Ga)	75
	-	California State-Dominguez Hills	66
						13	Southern Tech	57
						-	Quincy	61
	-	Quincy (Ill.)	77
	4	Birmingham–Southern (Ala.)	75
																					5	Henderson State	54
																					3	Drury	60
	3	Drury (Mo.)	69
	-	Hanover (Ind.)	60
						3	Drury	72
						14	Kearney State	69
	-	LeMoyne-Owen (Tenn.)	79
	14	Kearney State (Neb.)	98
											3	Drury	89
	BOTTOM TIER
											6	Briar Cliff	84
	11	High Point (N.C.)	91
	-	Oregon Tech	62
						11	High Point	65
						6	Briar Cliff	76
	-	Louisiana College	69
	6	Briar Cliff (Iowa)	83
																3	Drury	77
																-	Midwestern State	59
	7	Central Washington	83
	-	Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.)	62
						7	Central Washington	66
						-	Midwestern State	73
	-	Midwestern State (Tex.)	64
	10	Grand Valley State (Mich.)	63
											-	Midwestern State	77*
	BOTTOM TIER
											-	Marymount	76
	15	Norfolk State (Virginia)	64
	-	St. John Fisher(N.Y.)	57
						15	Norfolk State	77
						-	Marymount	87
	-	Marymount (Kan.)	79
	2	Grand Canyon (Ariz.)	74

•  * denotes overtime.

Third-place game

The third-place game featured the losing teams from the national semifinalist to determine 3rd and 4th places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.

	NAIA third-place game
	8	Southwest Texas State	101
	-	Midwestern State	88

See also

• 1979 NCAA Division I basketball tournament
• 1979 NCAA Division II basketball tournament
• 1979 NCAA Division III basketball tournament