1947 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1947 NAIA National Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 10th annual men's basketball tournament of what is now the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.^[1]

1947 NAIA men's basketball tournament

Teams	32
Finals site	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Marshall (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Mankato State (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	Arizona State-Flagstaff (1st Final Four) Emporia State (1st Final Four)
MVP	Irvin Leifer (Eastern Washington)
NAIA men's basketball tournament «1946 1948»

It would be the first time since 1945 the NAIA Semifinalist would feature four new teams. Becoming the 3rd tournament to do so, and a feat that would not be repeated until 1965.

The championship game featured Marshall defeating Mankato State, 73–59. The third place game featured Arizona State-Flagstaff, now Northern Arizona, defeating Emporia State, 47–38.

1947 kicked off the "golden age" of NAIA National Tournaments. Harold Haskins became the first of 16 all-time leading scorers. Coach John Wooden withdrew Indiana State from the tournament because the NAIB would not allow black student-athlete Clarence Walker to play.^[2] The NAIB changed in time for Walker to play for Indiana in the 1948 tournament.

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.^[3]

Bracket

	First round March 11, 1947				Second round March 12, 1947				Elite Eight				NAIA national semifinals				NAIA national championship
	Beloit	75
	Arkansas State	60
					Beloit	63
					Texas Wesleyan	53
	Texas Wesleyan	84
	Linfield	50
									Beloit	52
	TOP TIER
									Emporia State	55
	Canterbury (IN)	68
	Western Carolina	55
					Canterbury	48
					Emporia State	60
	Emporia State	78
	Lawrence Tech	54
													Emporia State	55
													Marshall	56*
	Dakota Wesleyan	44
	Southern Illinois	39
					Dakota Wesleyan	48
					Eastern Washington State	62
	Eastern Washington State	51
	Culver–Stockton	48
									Eastern Washington State	48
	TOP TIER
									Marshall	56
	Hamline	71
	New Mexico	49
					Hamline	54
					Marshall	55
	Marshall	113
	River Falls State	80
																	Marshall	73
																	Mankato State	59
	Whittier	70
	Northwestern State (LA)	56
					Whittier	49
					NE Missouri State	51
	NE Missouri State	76
	Delta State	58
									Arizona State-Flagstaff	59
	BOTTOM TIER
									NE Missouri State	55
	Arizona State-Flagstaff	49
	Youngstown	45*
					Arizona State-Flagstaff	44
					Houston	42***
	Houston	60
	Montana State	58
													Arizona State-Flagstaff	46
													Mankato State	52
	Hastings	53
	Loyola Maryland	44
					Hastings	42
					Southeastern State	48
	Southeastern State (OK)	53															NAIA third-place game
	Eastern Illinois State	42
									Southeastern State	44							Arizona State-Flagstaff	47
	BOTTOM TIER
									Mankato State	50							Emporia State	38
	Mankato State	71
	Loras	63
					Mankato State	65
					DePauw	54
	DePauw	82
	Oglethorpe	30

•  * denotes overtime.

See also

• 1947 NCAA basketball tournament
• 1947 National Invitation Tournament

References

1. . Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
2. Keefer, Zak (March 16, 2017). "Indiana basketball player broke racial barrier, changed game forever". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
3. NAIA Championship History 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine