1959 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The 1959 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 22nd 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 1959 Tournament is the first tournament to use the 16-seed system, which is still used today.
The championship game again featured Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University

Tennessee State University is a land-grant university located in Nashville, Tennessee. TSU is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennessee.-History:...

. The Tigers defeated the
Lutes of Pacific Lutheran University

Pacific Lutheran University

Pacific Lutheran University is located in Parkland, a suburb of Tacoma, Washington. In September 2009, PLU had a student population of 3,582 and approximately 280 full-time faculty...

. It would be the first time any school would win three tournaments in a row. (A feat only repeated once, by Kentucky State, in 1970-1972).

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1959 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:

Leading scorer est. 1963
Leading rebounder est. 1963
Player of the Year est. 1994
Most consecutive tournament victories; continues: 18 overall; 5 in 1959, Tennessee State, 1957
1957 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1957 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 20th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format . This would be the first tournament to have seeded teams. This also means...

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1958 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1958 Men's NAIA Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 21st annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format ....

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1960 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
The 1960 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 23rd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format ....
Most rebounds: 32, Ken Remley, West Virginia Wesleyan vs. Whittier (Calif.)
All-time leading scorer; second appearance: Charles Sharp, 5th Southwest Texas State (1957,59,60) 12 games, 118 field goals, 69 free throws, 305 total points, 25.4 average per game
All-time leading scorers; final appearance: Dick Barnett, 3rd, Tennessee State (1956,57,58,59) 18 games, 186 field goals, 79 free throws, 451 total points 25.1 average per game, Charles Curtis, 8th, Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) (1956,57,58,59) 14 games 101 field goals, 85 free throws, 287 total points, 20.5 average per game, Roger Iverson, 20th, Pacific Lutheran (1956,57,58,59) 14 games, 109 field goals, 23 free throws, 241 total points, 17.2 average per game, and John Barnhill, 21st, Tennessee State (1956,57,58,59) 17 games, 104 field goals, 27 free throws, 235 total points, 13.8 average per game.

1959 NAIA bracket

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.

Awards and honors

1959 NAIA bracket

3rd place game

See also