The 1970 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at
Municipal Auditorium in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
. The 33rd annual
NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.
Kentucky State would win the first of three straight National Championship titles, becoming the second team to win three in a row, and the third team to win three titles.
The 3rd-place game would go into overtime for the second time in tournament history. The 6th seeded Eastern New Mexico State Greyhounds beat the 8th seeded Guilford Quakers 77-72 in one overtime.
Awards and honors
*Leading scorer: ''Travis Grant'', Kentucky State; 5 games, 57 field goals, 23 free throws, 137 total points (27.4 average points per game)
*Leading rebounder: ''Elmore Smith'', Kentucky State & ''
Greg Hyder'', Eastern New Mexico; 5 games, 65 rebounds, (13 average rebounds per game)
*Player of the Year: est. 1994
*Most field goals made; career; ''223''; Travis Grant, Kentucky State, (1970, 71, 72)
*Most career points; individual: ''518'', Travis Grant, Kentucky State, (1970, 71, 72)
*All-time leading scorer; first appearance: ''Travis Grant, 1st'' (1970, 71, 72) 15 games, 223 field goals, 72 free throws, 518 points (34.5 average points per game)
1970 NAIA bracket
* * denotes overtime.
Third-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.
See also
*
1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
The 1970 NCAA University Division basketball tournament involved 25 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 7, 1970, and ended with the champ ...
*
1970 NCAA College Division basketball tournament
The 1970 NCAA College Division basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA College Division college basketball as a culmination of the 1969-70 NCAA ...
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
College basketball tournaments in Missouri
Basketball competitions in Kansas City, Missouri