The 72nd Buffalo Funds - NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held from March 18 to 24 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 72nd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The

Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...

was the host conference for the tournament. This was the Heart of America Athletic Conference's first year as a Division I conference. The tournament got off to a surprising start, as five higher seeded teams lost on the opening day, including top-seeded

Rogers State Rogers State University (RSU) is a public university in Claremore, Oklahoma. It also has branch campuses in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Bartlesville and Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, Pryor Creek. History The institution that is now RSU has gone through ...

, who lost to William Jewell, who had only qualified for the tournament by receiving the Heart of America Athletic Conference's host bid into the field. In the end, two unseeded teams,

Rocky Mountain College Rocky Mountain College (Rocky or RMC) is a private college in Billings, Montana. It offers 50 liberal arts and professional majors in 24 undergraduate disciplines. In fall 2013, the college had 1069 enrolled students. It is affiliated with the ...

of Montana and Columbia College of Missouri—neither of whom had ever won a game at the tournament prior to 2009—met in the championship game, having each disposed of three higher-ranked teams along the way. Rocky Mountain won the championship with a 77-61 victory, claiming Rocky's first national basketball title.

Awards and honors

*Leading scorer: ''Eric Palm'', McKendree (IL) *Leading rebounder: ''Devin Uskoski'', Rocky Mountain (MT) *Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player: ''Devin Uskoski'', Rocky Mountain (MT) *Most consecutive tournament appearances: ''18th'', Georgetown (KY) *Most tournament appearances: ''Georgetown (KY)'', 28th of 30, appearances to the NAIA Tournament * Oklahoma Baptist won their 49th tournament game, tying them with Georgetown College (KY) for the most tournament wins all-time.

2009 NAIA bracket

* * denotes 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 Division I 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

2009 NAIA bracket

See also

References