1940 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament
| 1940 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 32 |
| Finals Site |
Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Champions |
Tarkio (Mo.) (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four) |
| Runner-Up |
San Diego State (2nd title game, 2nd Final Four) |
| Semifinalists |
Delta State (Miss.) (1st Final Four) Hamline (Minn.) (1st Final Four) |
| Chuck Taylor MVP | Mel Waits (Tarkio (Mo.)) |
The 1940 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 4th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. This year the National College Basketball Tournament (NCBT) changed its name to the National Association for Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB).
The championship game featured Tarkio College (Mo.) beating the Aztecs of San Diego State 52-42. San Diego State became the first team to lose back-to-back title games.
Many of the records set by the 1940 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:
The third place game featured the losing team from the national semifinalist to determine third and fourth places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.
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