1946 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1946 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

. The 9th annual NAIA

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . The championship game was won by Southern Illinois University

Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball

The Southern Illinois Salukis basketball team represents Southern Illinois University Carbondale in Carbondale, Illinois. The Salukis compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Salukis are currently coached by Chris Lowery who led the team to the NCAA tournament in 2004 thru 2007. Lowery was...

when the Salukis defeated the Indiana State University

Indiana State Sycamores men's basketball

The Indiana State Sycamores basketball is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. They currently compete in the Missouri Valley Conference...

Sycamores 49-40.

1946 would see the departure of the third team of the eight originating teams from the 1937 tournament

1937 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

-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:...

. After this year, Central Missouri State

University of Central Missouri

The University of Central Missouri is a four-year public institution in Warrensburg, Missouri.- History :...

left to join the NCAA, and to date has not returned. The original National Champions, and first back to back National Champions, the Mules of Central Missouri State, left the tournament with seven career appearances, and an overall record of 13 wins and 6 loses, becoming the winnest team of the eight original teams. The Mules won two National Championships in 1937 and 1938

1938 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1938 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2nd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . This was the first tournament to expand to 32 teams...

and finishing in 4th place in 1942

1942 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1942 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 6th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format ....

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1945 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.

1946 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.

Awards and honors

1946 NAIA bracket

3rd place game

See also