The 1951 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in

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. The 14th Annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured Hamline and Millikin. It was the first meeting between these two schools in tournament history. The Pipers of Hamline defeated the Big Blue of Millikin, 69–61. 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 and Regis. The Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets defeated the Regis Rangers, 82–78. Hamline's win put them on the leader board for most tournament champions with 3. A record that would last until Tennessee State would win in consecutive years. (

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

.) Three Championships would be a tournament record until

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

when

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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.NAIA Championship History

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 concen ...

NAIA men's basketball tournament NAIA men's basketball tournament

Awards and honors

Bracket

See also

References