1945 NAIA basketball tournament

1945 NAIA men's basketball tournament

Teams	16
Finals site	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Loyola New Orleans (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Pepperdine (1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Semifinalists	Eastern Kentucky (1st Final Four) Southern Illinois (1st Final Four)
MVP	Fred Lewis (Eastern Kentucky)
NAIA men's basketball tournament «1944 1946»

The 1945 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 8th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 16 teams playing in a single-elimination format, instead of the normal 32. It is the only tournament to feature only 16 teams.

The NAIA semifinals featured four new teams for the first time since the inaugural year, 1937. The championship game featured Loyola New Orleans defeating Pepperdine 49–35.

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1945 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
• Coach of the Year est. 1954
• Player of the Year est. 1994

Bracket

	First round				Elite Eight				NAIA national semifinals				NAIA national championship
	Central (MO)	54
	Eau Claire	36
					Central (MO)	48*
					Eastern Kentucky	50
	Eastern Kentucky	64
	Simpson	42
									Eastern Kentucky	34
	TOP TIER
									Pepperdine	52
	West Texas State	54
	Wichita State	43
					West Texas State	45
					Pepperdine	52
	Pepperdine	77
	Peru State	42
													Pepperdine	35
													Loyola New Orleans	49
	Central Normal (IN)	53
	Catawba	39
					Central Normal	43
					Loyola New Orleans	50
	Loyola New Orleans	53
	Phillips	31
									Loyola New Orleans	37
	BOTTOM TIER
									Southern Illinois	35
	Southern Illinois	64											NAIA third-pace game
	Washburn	49
					Southern Illinois	61							Eastern Kentucky	45
					Doane	44							Southern Illinois	49
	Doane	54
	Eastern Washington State	51

•  * denotes overtime.

See also

• 1945 NCAA basketball tournament
• 1945 National Invitation Tournament