1953 NAIA basketball tournament

College basketball tournament August 2023October 2023 NAIA men's basketball tournament 1953 150px 1953 NAIA Men's National Basketball Tournament 32 Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri Southwest Missouri State 2nd 2nd 2nd 6th Hamline 4th Indiana State 5th East Texas State 1st Jerry Anderson Southwest Missouri State unknown The 1953 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 16th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.http://naia.cstv.com/ NAIA.org 2020-05-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20090501033134/http://naia.cstv.com/ 2009-05-01 dead The championship game would feature Southwest Missouri State, now Missouri State University, and Hamline (10th appearance in tournament). The Bears were coached by Bob Vanatta. The championship game was the first time that these two teams had ever met in the tournament. The Bears would defeat the Pipers to win another national championship, 79–71. It was the first time since 1937 and 1938, the first two years of the tournament, that the same team would win the national championship title. (The first two tournaments were also won by a Missouri university, Central Missouri State.) Playing for third place were Indiana State and East Texas State, now Texas A&M University–Commerce. It was the first time that these two teams had played each other. The Sycamores defeated the Lions by a score of 74 to 71. The 1953 tournament would be Hamline's first, and only, second place title as well as Indiana State's first, and only, third place title, making them the first two schools to win, outright, first, second, third, and fourth places in the NAIA tournament (Georgetown (KY) the only other school to have that honor). It is the last year without the Coach of the Year Award. 1953 is the first tournament to feature a Nazarene University (Pasadena, now Point Loma Nazarene). Perennial staples to the tournament, only a handful of years have been absence of a Nazarene University playing. There were two games in which all-time top performances would be recorded. Awards and honors Many of the records set by the 1953 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later: Leading Scorer Award est. 1963 Leading Rebounder Award est. 1963 Charles Stevenson Hustle Award est. 1958 Coach of the Year est. 1954 Player of the Year est. 1994 Top single-game performances: 3rd Harold Wolfe of Findlay (Ohio) playing against Pasadena (Calif.) scored 25 field goals and 4 free throws totaling 54 points for one game. Findlay won the game. Top single-game performances: 22nd Pete Kinkead of Geneva (Pa.) playing against Tennessee State, scored 14 field goals and 15 free throws totaling 43 points for one game. Geneva did not win the game. All-time scoring leader; first appearance: 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. All-time scoring leader; second 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. All-time scoring leaders; final 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.NAIA Championship History https://web.archive.org/web/20080515144808/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/naia/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/mensd1champhistory.pdf 2008-05-15 Bracket First round Second round Elite Eight NAIA national semifinals NAIA national championship NAIA third-place game TOP TIER TOP TIER BOTTOM TIER BOTTOM TIER 170 30 no high Eastern Illinois State 84 Morris Harvey 67 Hamline 89 Louisiana Tech 80 Mississippi Southern 106 River Falls State 72 Loyola Maryland 66 Portland 64 East Texas State 57 Adrian 40 St. Peter's 81 Southwestern State (OK) 60 St. Benedict's (KS) 69 North Dakota 66 Tennessee A&I State 89 Geneva 88 SW Missouri State 95 Gonzaga 74 Stetson 75 State College of Iowa 57 Nebraska Wesleyan 83 Arnold 62 Arizona State-Tempe 81 East Tennessee State 79 Pasadena 107 Ricks 72 Findlay 80 Adams State 63 Arkansas Tech 85 East Carolina 81 Midwestern 76 Indiana State 100 Eastern Illinois State 86 Hamline 88 Mississippi Southern 94 Loyola (Md.) 83 East Texas State 85 St. Peter's 68 St. Benedict's 56 Tennessee A&I State 79 Southwest Missouri State 98 Stetson 71 Nebraska Wesleyan 83 Arizona State-Tempe 71 Pasadena 93 Findlay 96 Arkansas Tech 81 Indiana State 100 Hamline 102 Mississippi Southern 92 East Texas State 72 Tennessee A&I State 67 Southwest Missouri State 78 Nebraska Wesleyan 74 Findlay 70 Indiana State 106 Hamline 73 East Texas State 71 Southwest Missouri State 84 Indiana State 78 Hamline 71 Southwest Missouri State 79 East Texas State 71 Indiana State 74 See also 1953 NCAA basketball tournament 1953 National Invitation Tournament References Category:NAIA men's basketball championship Tournament NAIA men's basketball tournament NAIA men's basketball tournament