The 1952 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. The 15th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. In 1952, the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) changes its name to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) The championship game featured

Southwest Missouri State Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

, now Missouri State University, who defeated

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

, 73–64. Finishing out the NAIA Final Four, and playing for the 3rd place game were Southwest Texas State, now Texas State University–San Marcos, and

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. The Bears of Southwest Missouri State defeated the Pilots of Portland, 78–68. A notorious game happened in the first round between Moringside and

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...

. There was a tournament record of forty personal fouls between the two teams in one game. Incidentally, Morningside would win the game 84 to 80.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1952 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 *Most personal fouls in one game: ''40'', Pepperdine (Calif.) vs. Morningside (Iowa) *All-time scoring leader; first appearance: ''E.C. O'Neal, 9th'', Arkansas Tech (1952,53,54,55), 13 games, 122 field goals, 43 free throws, totaling 287 points, 22.1 average per game. *All-time scoring leaders; third 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.NAIA Championship History

Bracket

* * denotes each overtime.

References

{{NAIA men's basketball tournament NAIA Men's Basketball Championship

Tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

NAIA men's basketball tournament Naia or NAIA may refer to: Sports * National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics * NAIA Softball Championship * NAIA Volleyball Championship * NAIA World Series * NAIA Wrestling Championship * NAIA lacrosse Other * Naia (skeleton), a Paleoam ...

Awards and honors

Bracket

See also

References