Puneet Varma (Editor)

1956 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

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Teams
  
32

Finals Site
  
Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri

Champions
  
McNeese State (La.) (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)

Runner-Up
  
Texas Southern (1st title game, 1st Final Four)

Semifinalists
  
Pittsburg State (Ks.) (2nd Final Four) Wheaton (Ill.) (1st Final Four)

Coach of the Year
  
John Lance (Pittsburg State (Kan.))

The 1956 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 19th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. 1956 would be the last year for unseeded teams going into the tournament. The championship game featured McNeese State University (La.) and Texas Southern University. It was the first and only appearance for the McNeese State made in the NAIA tournament. The Cowboys beat the Tigers 60 to 55. The third place game featured Pittsburg State University (Ks.) Gorillas who defeated the Wheaton College (Ill.) Thunder 77 to 70. This tournament featured six all-time leading scorers.

Contents

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1956 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
  • Player of the Year est. 1994
  • Most tournament appearances: Georgetown (Ky.), 3rd of 28, appearances to the NAIA Tournament
  • Top single-game performances: Jim Spivey of Southeastern Oklahoma vs State Georgia Southern. Spivey scored 17 field goals 9 free throws, totaling 43 points.
  • Most free throws made; career: 120 free throws made by Jim Spivey of Southeastern Oklahoma State (1954,55,56,57).
  • All-time leading scorers; first 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.
  • All-time leading scorer; second appearance: Bennie Swain, 6th Texas Southern (1955,56,57,58) 15 games, 119 field goals, 64 free throws, 302 total points, 20.1 average per game.
  • All-time leading scorer; third appearance: James Spivey, 4th, Southeastern Oklahoma (1954,55,56,57) 13 games, 133 field goals, 120 free throws, 386 total points, 29.7 average per game.

    • 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.

    References

    1956 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA