1952 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
| 1952 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament | |
|---|---|
| Teams | 32 |
| Finals Site |
Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri |
| Champions |
Southwest Missouri State (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four) |
| Runner-Up |
Murray State (Ky.) (2nd title game, 4th Final Four) |
| Semifinalists |
Southwest Texas State (1st Final Four) Portland (Ore.) (1st Final Four) |
| Chuck Taylor MVP | Benny Purcell (Murray State (Ky.)) |
The 1952 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 15th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. In 1952, the National Association of Intercollegiate Basketball (NAIB) changes its name to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) The championship game featured Southwest Missouri State University, now Missouri State University, who defeated Murray State University by a score of 73 to 64. Finishing out the NAIA Final Four, and playing for the 3rd place game were Southwest Texas State, now Texas State University–San Marcos, and the University of Portland. The Bears of Southwest Missouri State defeated the Pilots of Portland by a score of 78 to 68. A notorious game happened in the first round between Moringside College (Iowa) and Pepperdine University (Calif.). There was a tournament record of 40 personal fouls between the two teams in one game. Incidentally, Morningside would win the game 84 to 80.
Many of the records set by the 1952 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:
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.
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