1950 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1950 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 13th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured Indiana State University and East Central University (Okla.). It was the first time these two teams had met in the tournament history. The Sycamores defeated the Tigers 61-57.

This would be Indiana State's highest finish in their 12 career appearances in the NAIA tournament. Winning the championship puts them in a unique group to place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. Also Indiana State finally gets a win after 2 times as runner-up. Uniquely, Indiana State has finished as the National Runner-up in the NAIA (1946 and 1948), the NCAA Division I (1979) and the NCAA Division II (1968) tournaments.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1950 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:

• Leading scorer est. 1963
• Leading rebounder est. 1963
• Chuck Taylor Award: est. 1939 Len Rzeszewski
• Charles Stevenson Hustle Award est. 1958
• All-Tournament Team: Len Rzeszewski, Dan Dimich, Don McDonald - Indiana State; Stacey Howell, Claude Overton - East Central (Okla)
• Coach of the Year est. 1954
• Player of the Year est. 1994
• All-time scoring leaders; first appearance: Lloyd Thorgaard, 10th, Hamline (Minn.) (1950,51,52,53), 15 games, 111 field goals, 61 free throws, 283 total points, 18.9 average per game; James Fritsche, 14th, Hamline (Minn.) (1950,51,52,53), 15 games, 113 field goals, 46 free throws, 272 total points, 18.1 average per game.
• All-time scoring leader; final 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.

1950 NAIA bracket

	First Round					Second Round					Elite Eight					NAIA National Semifinals					NAIA National Championship
	-	Hamline (Minn.)	74
	-	Regis (Colo.)	66
						-	Hamline	66
						-	Central College	76
	-	Central College (Mo.)	68
	-	Peru State (Neb.)	59
											-	Central College	65
	TOP TIER
											-	Central Washington State	55
	-	Portland (Ore.)	48
	-	Montana	47
						-	Portland	43
						-	Central Washington State	51
	-	Central Washington State	61
	-	Murray State (Ky.)	55
																-	Central College	54
																-	East Central State	57
	-	Brooklyn (N.Y.)	79
	-	Appalachian State (N.C.)	75
						-	Brooklyn	64
						-	Puget Sound	47
	-	Puget Sound (Wash.)	70
	-	Southeastern Louisiana	68*
											-	Brooklyn	52
	TOP TIER
											-	East Central State	84
	-	East Central State (Okla.)	70
	-	Kansas Wesleyan	68
						-	East Central State	75
						-	River Falls State	64
	-	River Falls State (Wis.)	80
	-	Eastern Illinois State	68
																					-	East Central State	57
																					-	Indiana State	61
	-	Westminster (Pa.)	70
	-	Connecticut Teachers	62
						-	Westminster	75
						-	Davis & Elkins	85
	-	Davis & Elkins (W.Va.)	79
	-	St. Thomas (Minn.)	55
											-	Davis & Elkins	69
	BOTTOM TIER
											-	Tampa	81
	-	Tampa (Fla.)	85
	-	New Mexico A&M	75
						-	Tampa	69
						-	Pepperdine	61
	-	Pepperdine (Calif.)	54
	-	American (D.C.)	53
																-	Tampa	69
																-	Indiana State	73
	-	East Texas State	55
	-	South Dakota	54
						-	East Texas State	62
						-	Baldwin-Wallace	82
	-	Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio)	84
	-	Kalamazoo (Mich.)	83
											-	Baldwin-Wallace	39
	BOTTOM TIER
											-	Indiana State	61
	-	Arkansas Tech	75
	-	Morningside (Iowa)	74
						-	Arkansas Tech	79
						-	Indiana State	87
	-	Indiana State	65
	-	Delta State (Miss.)	59

•  *  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.

	NAIA Third Place Game
	-	Central College	80
	-	Tampa	67

See also

• 1950 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
• 1950 National Invitation Tournament