1966 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1966 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 29th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.^[1] This tournament featured the game with the most points scored. Al Tucker received the MVP award for the second time this year.

1966 NAIA men's basketball tournament

Season	1965–66
Teams	32
Finals site	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Oklahoma Baptist (1st title, 2nd title game, 2nd Final Four)
Runner-up	Georgia Southern (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	Grambling (La.) (3rd Final Four) Norfolk State (Va.) (1st Final Four)
Coach of the year	Ted Kjolhede (Central Michigan)
MVP	Al Tucker (Oklahoma Baptist)
Top scorer	Al Tucker (Oklahoma Baptist) (182 points)
NAIA men's basketball tournament «1965 1967»

Awards and honors

• Leading scorer: Al Tucker, Oklahoma Baptist; 5 games, 69 field goals, 44 free throws, 182 total points (36.4 average points per game)
• Leading rebounder: Richard Pitts, Norfolk State (Va.); 5 games, 76 total rebounds (15.2 average rebounds per game)
• Player of the Year: est. 1994
• Most team points; single-game: 132, Norfolk State (Va.) vs. Upper Iowa 97
• Most team points; tournament: 521, Norfolk State (Va.), (104.2 avg.)
• Most field goals made; single-game: 57, Norfolk State (Va.) vs. Upper Iowa
• Most field goals made; tournament: 216, Norfolk State (Va.)
• Top single-game performances: Earl Beechum 11th, Midwestern State (Texas) vs. Monmouth (N.J.); 20 field goals, 6 free throws 46 total points
• All-time leading scorer; second appearance: Al Tucker 2nd, Oklahoma Baptist (1965,66,67); 15 games, 177 field goals, 117 free throws, 471 total points (31.4 points per game).^[2]

1966 NAIA bracket

	First round					Second round					Elite Eight					NAIA national semifinals					NAIA national championship
	1	Central State (Ohio)	92
	-	St. Thomas (Minn.)	69
						1	Central State (Ohio)	72
						-	Lakeland	68
	-	Lakeland (Wis.)	95
	16	Linfield (Ore.)	81
											1	Central State (Ohio)	76
	TOP TIER
											9	Norfolk State	88
	9	Norfolk State (Va.)	132
	-	Upper Iowa	97
						9	Norfolk State	103
						-	Athens	81
	-	Athens (Ala.)	88
	8	Pittsburg State (Kan.)	79
																9	Norfolk State	88
																4	Georgia Southern	89
	5	Midwestern (Texas)	94
	-	Monmouth (N.J.)	92
						5	Midwestern	82
						12	Illinois Wesleyan	96
	-	Dickinson State (N.D.)	76
	12	Illinois Wesleyan	86
											12	Illinois Wesleyan	72
	TOP TIER
											4	Georgia Southern	96
	13	Guilford (N.C.)	67
	-	Southern State (Ark.)	72
						-	Southern State	62
						4	Georgia Southern	80
	-	Howard Payne (Texas)	80*
	4	Georgia Southern	85
																					4	Georgia Southern	59
																					11	Oklahoma Baptist	88
	3	Grambling State (La.)	70
	-	Central Washington State	65
						3	Grambling State	95
						-	Carroll (MT)	86
	-	Carroll College (Montana)	91
	14	Bethune-Cookman (Fla.)	88
											3	Grambling State	84
	BOTTOM TIER
											10	Rockhurst	82
	-	Millersville State (Pa.)	86
	10	Rockhurst (Mo.)	102
						10	Rockhurst	97
						7	Albuquerque	87
	7	Albuquerque (N.M.)	81
	-	New Haven (Conn.)	74
																3	Grambling State	80
																11	Oklahoma Baptist	94
	-	Edinboro State (Pa.)	53
	6	Central Michigan	67
						6	Central Michigan	70
						11	Oklahoma Baptist	90
	11	Oklahoma Baptist	80
	-	California Western	76
											11	Oklahoma Baptist	87
	BOTTOM TIER
											2	Carson-Newman	62
	15	Morris Harvey (W.Va.)	110
	-	Peru State College (Neb.)	103*
						15	Morris Harvey	74
						2	Carson-Newman	103
	-	Indiana Central	67
	2	Carson-Newman (Tenn.)	68

•  * denotes overtime.

Third-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.

	NAIA third-place game
	9	Norfolk State	110
	3	Grambling State	111

See also

• 1966 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
• 1966 NCAA College Division basketball tournament

References

1. "NAIA.org". Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
2. NAIA Championship History 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine