1947 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1947 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 10th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.^[1] It would be the first time since 1945 the NAIA Semifinalist would feature four new teams. A feat that would not be repeated until 1965. The championship game featured Marshall University (W. Va.) defeating Mankato State (Minn.) by a score of 73 to 59. The third place game featured Arizona State-Flagstaff, now Northern Arizona University, defeating Emporia State University by a score of 47 to 38.

1947 kicks off the "golden age" of NAIA National Tournaments. Harold Haskins became the first of 16 all-time leading scorers.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1947 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
• Top single-game scoring performances: 2nd by Nate DeLong, Wisconsin-River Falls vs. Marshall (W.Va.). Delong scored 22 field goals had 12 free throws totaling 56 points.
• All-time scoring leader; first appearance: Harold Haskins, 12th, Hamline (Minn.) (1947,48,49,50), 14 games, 104 field goals, 72 free throws, 280 total points, 20.0 average per game.^[2]

1947 NAIA bracket

•  * denotes overtime.

3rd 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.

References

See also

• 1947 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
• 1947 National Invitation Tournament