1951 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament

1951 (1951) NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Teams 32
Finals Site Municipal Auditorium
Kansas City, Missouri
Champions Hamline (Minn.)
(3rd title, 3rd title game,
5th Final Four)
Runner-Up Millikin (Ill.)
(1st title game,
1st Final Four)
Semifinalists Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio)
(1st Final Four)
Regis (Colo.)
(2nd Final Four)
Chuck Taylor MVP Scotty Steagall
(Millikin (Ill.))

The 1951 NAIA Division I 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.[1] 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.

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

1951 NAIA bracket

First Round Second Round Elite Eight NAIA National Semifinals NAIA National Championship
               
- Evansville (Ind.) 85
- Westminster (Pa.) 74
- Evansville 75
- Morningside 62
- Morningside (Iowa) 66
- Providence (R.I.) 63
- Evansville 68
TOP TIER
- Regis 70
- Regis (Colo.) 72
- East Central State (Okla.) 55
- Regis 82
- Southwest Texas State 64
- Southwest Texas State 70
- Morehead State (Ky.) 62
- Regis 70
- Millikin 88
- Millikin (Ill.) 77
- Eastern New Mexico 63
- Millikin 80
- East Texas Baptist 62
- East Texas Baptist 67
- High Point (N.C.) 64
- Millikin 91
TOP TIER
- Florida State 60
- Pepperdine (Calif.) 86
- Eau Claire State (Wis.) 53
- Pepperdine 59
- Florida State 61
- Florida State 85
- South Dakota State 70
- Millikin 61
- Hamline 69
- Hamline (Minn.) 82
- Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 57
- Hamline 64
- Arkansas Tech 52
- Arkansas Tech 64
- Pacific (Calif.) 61
- Hamline 80
BOTTOM TIER
- New Mexico A&M 56
- Central College (Mo.) 68
- Southeastern Louisiana 66
- Central 69
- New Mexico A&M 73
- New Mexico A&M 68
- Glenville State (W.Va.) 54
- Hamline 78
- Baldwin-Wallace 62
- Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) 67
- American (D.C.) 66
- Baldwin-Wallace 68
- Ottawa 67
- Ottawa (Kan.) 73
- Hillsdale (Mich.) 58
- Baldwin-Wallace 90
BOTTOM TIER
- Memphis State 67
- Memphis State (Tenn.) 76
- Portland (Ore.) 74
- Memphis State 81
- Hastings 79*
- Hastings (Neb.) 71
- Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) 51
  •  * denotes overtime.

3rd 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
   
- Baldwin-Wallace 82
- Regis 78

See also

References

  1. ↑ NAIA.org
  2. ↑ NAIA Championship History Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine.
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