1961 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1961 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured the 13th seeded Grambling and the third seeded Georgetown. For the first time since seeding, in 1958, the third-place game featured the first and second seeds, Northern Michigan, and Westminster.

1961 NAIA men's basketball tournament

Season	1960–61
Teams	32
Finals site	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Grambling Tigers (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Georgetown Tigers (1st title game, 2nd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Northern Michigan Wildcats (1st Final Four) Westminster Titans (2nd Final Four)
Coach of the year	Rex Pyles (Alderson Broaddus)
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award	Dick Vories (Georgetown (KY))
MVP	Charles Hardnett (Grambling)
NAIA men's basketball tournament «1960 1962»

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1961 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
• All-time leading scorer; first appearance: Willis Reed, 16th Grambling (1961,63,64), 12 games 108 field goals 39 free throws 265 total points, 22.8 average per
• All-time leading scorer; second appearance: Hershell West, 15th Grambling (1960,61,63), 13 games, 116 field goals, 37 free throws, 269 total points, 20.7 average per game.

1961 NAIA bracket

	First round					Second round					Elite Eight					NAIA national semifinals					NAIA national championship
	1	Westminster (PA)	68
	-	Arkansas State Teachers	60
						1	Westminster (PA)	85
						16	Newberry	73
	-	Simpson	58
	16	Newberry	64
											1	Westminster (PA)	35
	TOP TIER
											9	Winston-Salem State	33
	9	Winston-Salem State	95
	-	Westminster (UT)	70
						9	Winston-Salem State	86
						-	West Virginia State	76
	-	West Virginia State	90
	8	Whitworth	89
																1	Westminster (PA)	44
																13	Grambling	45
	5	Anderson (IN)	85
	-	St. Bernard	77
						5	Anderson (IN)	86
						12	Emporia State	81*
	-	Northern State	72
	12	Emporia State	77
											5	Anderson (IN)	54
	TOP TIER
											13	Grambling	62
	13	Grambling	107
	-	Linfield	85
						13	Grambling	80
						-	Peru State	60
	-	Peru State	72
	4	Oglethorpe	65
																					13	Grambling	95
																					3	Georgetown (KY)	75
	3	Georgetown (KY)	88
	-	Western Montana	76
						3	Georgetown (KY)	59
						14	Redlands	57
	-	Savannah State	80
	14	Redlands	89
											3	Georgetown (KY)	84
	BOTTOM TIER
											7	Central State (OK)	83
	-	Gustavus Adolphus	63
	10	Illinois Wesleyan	79
						10	Illinois Wesleyan	62
						7	Central State (OK)	84
	7	Central State (OK)	80
	-	St. Norbert	73
																3	Georgetown (KY)	101
																2	Northern Michigan	67
	-	East Texas Baptist	70
	6	Steubenville	68
						-	East Texas Baptist	59
						11	Southwest Texas State	61
	11	Southwest Texas State	70
	-	Central Connecticut State	59
											11	Southwest Texas State	75
	BOTTOM TIER
											2	Northern Michigan	80
	15	Maryland State	74
	-	Missouri Valley	89
						-	Missouri Valley	63
						2	Northern Michigan	79
	-	Carson–Newman	60
	2	Northern Michigan	69

•  * denotes overtime.

Third-place game

The third-place game featured the losing teams from the national semifinalist to determine third and fourth places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.

	NAIA third-place game
	1	Westminster (PA)	84
	2	Northern Michigan	101

See also

• 1961 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
• 1961 NCAA College Division basketball tournament