The 1955 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 18th 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 1955 tournament was one for the record books. It featured four of the all time leading scorers, two single-game best tournament performances, and most free throws made in tournament history.

The championship game featured East Texas State University

Texas A&M University–Commerce

Texas A&M University–Commerce is a state university located in Commerce, Texas and a member of the Texas A&M University System, the second largest university within the system behind Texas A&M University in College Station....

 (now Texas A&M-Commerce) and Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Southeastern Oklahoma State University

Southeastern Oklahoma State University, often referred to as Southeastern and abbreviated as SE, or SOSU, is a public university located in Durant, Oklahoma, with an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 4,229 as of 2009.-History:...

. East Texas State defeated SEOSU by a score of 71 to 54. The other teams in the NAIA Semifinals were Western Illinois University

Western Illinois Leathernecks basketball

The Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represents Western Illinois University of Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I men's college basketball competition....

 and Arkansas Tech

Arkansas Tech University

Arkansas Tech University is a comprehensive regional institution located in Russellville, Arkansas, United States. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. As of 2004, the University also operates a small satellite campus in the town of Ozark...

. The Leathernecks defeated the Wonder Boys for the 3rd place title by a score of 77 to 74.

1955 would see the departure of the fourth 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:...

. The first 3rd place winning Southwestern College (Kan.)

Southwestern College Moundbuilders

Southwestern College athletic teams are known as the Moundbuilders . They participate in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.Men's Sports* Basketball...

 left the tournament with six career appearances, and an overall record of 12 wins and 5 loses, including a 3rd place finish in 1937 and a National Championship in
1939

1939 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1939 NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 3rd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . This was also the year the NCAA Basketball tournament was started...

 (becoming the 2nd originating team to win a National Championship. St. Benedict's College

Benedictine College

Benedictine College is a co-educational university in Atchison, Kansas, founded in 1971 by the merger of St. Benedict's College for men and Mount St. Scholastica College for women. It is a Roman Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts, and residential college located on bluffs overlooking the...

 became the 3rd and last team to do so in 1954

1954 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1954 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 17th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . The Southwest Missouri State University Bears were out to claim an...

.) To date, the Moundbuilders have not returned to the NAIA Division I tournament, but have appeared in 1998 and 2006

2006 NAIA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament

The 2006 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship was held in March at Keeter Gymnasium in Point Lookout, Missouri. The 15th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format....

 NAIA Division II tournaments.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1955 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
• Player of the Year est. 1994
• Most free throws made; single game: 24 free throws made by Joe Miller of Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) in a game verses Quincy (Ill.).
• Most free throws made; career: 120 free throws made by Jim Spivey of Southeastern Oklahoma State (1954,55,56,57).
• Most tournament appearances: Georgetown (Ky.), 2nd of 28, appearances to the NAIA Tournament
• All-time single game performances: 5th Joe Miller of Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) vs. Quincy (Ill.). Miller scored 12 field goals and 24 free throws, totaling 48 points.
• All-time single game performances: 12th Paul Brownlee of Steubenville (Ohio) vs. Southeastern Oklahoma. Brownlee scored 16 field goals and 14 free throws, totaling 46 points.
• All-time scoring leader; first appearance: Bennie Swain 6th, Texas Southern (1955,56,57,58), 15 games, 119 field goals, 64 free throws, totaling 302 points, 20.1 average per game.
• All-time scoring leader; second appearance: James Spivey, 4th Southeastern Oklahoma State (1954,55,56,57), 13 games, 133 field goals, 120 free throws, totaling 386 points, 29.7 average per game.
• All-time scoring leaders; final appearance: E.C. O’Neal, 9th, Arkansas Tech (1952,53,54,55), 13 games, 122 field goals, 43 free throws, totaling 287 points, 22.1 average per game; James Miller, 18th, East Texas State (1953,54,55), 13 games, 103 field goals, 40 free throws, totaling 246 points, 18.9 average per game.

1955 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.

See also

• 1955 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
  1955 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
  -West region:-National Championship:-External links:* on Shrp Sports * , source for much of the information on this page....
  
  
• 1955 National Invitation Tournament
  1955 National Invitation Tournament
  The 1955 National Invitation Tournament was the 1955 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.-Selected teams:Below is a list of the 12 teams selected for the tournament.-Brackets/Results:Below is the tournament bracket....