1961 NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament

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1961 (1961) NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
Teams32
ChampionsGrambling (La.)
(1st title, 1st title game,
1st Fab Four)
Runner-UpGeorgetown (Ky.)
(1st title game,
2nd Fab Four)
SemifinalistsNorthern Michigan
Westminster (Pa.)
Coach of the YearRex Pyles
(Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.))
Chuck Taylor MVPCharles Hardnett
(Grambling (La.))
Charles Stevenson
Hustle Award
Dick Vories
(Georgetown (Ky.))
← 1960 NAIA Division I
Men's Tournaments		 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 (La.) (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 (La.) (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 (Iowa) 58
16 Newberry (S.C.) 64
1 Westminster (Pa.) 35
TOP TIER
9 Winston-Salem State 33
9 Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 95
- Westminster (Utah) 70
9 Winston-Salem State 86
- West Virginia State 76
- West Virginia State 90
8 Whitworth (Wash.) 89
1 Westminster (Pa.) 44
13 Grambling State 45
5 Anderson (Ind.) 85
- St. Bernard (Ala.) 77
5 Anderson 86
12 Emporia State 81*
- Northern State (S.D.) 72
12 Emporia State (Kan.) 77
5 Anderson 54
TOP TIER
13 Grambling State 62
13 Grambling State (La.) 107
- Linfield (Ore.) 85
13 Grambling State 80
- Peru State 60
- Peru State (Neb.) 72
4 Oglethorpe (Ga.) 65
13 Grambling State 95
3 Georgetown 75
3 Georgetown (Ky.) 88
- Western Montana 76
3 Georgetown 59
14 Redlands 57
- Savannah State (Ga.) 80
14 Redlands (Calif.) 89
3 Georgetown 84
BOTTOM TIER
7 Central State (Okla.) 83
- Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) 63
10 Illinois Wesleyan 79
10 Illinois Wesleyan 62
7 Central State (Okla.) 84
7 Central State (Okla.) 80
- St. Norbert (Wis.) 73
3 Georgetown 101
2 Northern Michigan 67
- East Texas Baptist 70
6 Steubenville (Ohio) 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 (Tenn.) 60
2 Northern Michigan 69
  •  * denotes overtime.

3rd 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

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "NAIA.org". Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2020-05-16.
  2. ^ NAIA Championship History Archived 2009-05-05 at WebCite
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