1962 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1962 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 25th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. It would be the last tournament without a formal leading scorer and rebounder awards presented. This was also the first tournament since seeding began to feature the top two teams in the Championship Game. The number 2 seeded Prairie View A&M (Texas) beat Westminster (Pa.) 62 to 53.

1962 NAIA men's basketball tournament

Season	1961–62
Teams	32
Finals site	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	Prairie View A&M (Texas) (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four)
Runner-up	Westminster (Pa.) (2nd title game, 3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Southeastern Oklahoma (3rd Final Four) Western Illinois (4th Final Four)
Coach of the year	Buzz Ridl (Westminster (Pa.))
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award	Bill Douds (Westminster (Pa.))
MVP	Zelmo Beaty (Prairie View A&M (Texas))
NAIA men's basketball tournament «1961 1963»

Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1962 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
• Most rebounds; tournament: 96, Zelmo Beaty, Prairie View A&M (Texas)
• Most rebounds; career start: 180, Lucious Jackson, Pan American (Texas), (1962, 1963, 1964)
• All-time leading scorer; first appearance: Lucious Jackson 7th, Pan American (Texas) (1962,63,64), 12 games, 117 field goals, 67 free throws, 301 total points, 25.0 average per game.

1962 NAIA bracket

	First round					Second round					Elite Eight					NAIA national semifinals					NAIA national championship
	1	Westminster (Pa.)	59
	-	McMurry (Texas)	54
						1	Westminster	82
						16	William Jewell	65
	-	Central Connecticut State	52
	16	William Jewell (Mo.)	57
											1	Westminster	63
	TOP TIER
											9	Orange State	55
	9	Orange State (Calif.)	94
	-	Stetson (Fla.)	79
						9	Orange State	97
						-	Lewis & Clark	78
	-	Lewis & Clark (Ore.)	75
	8	Fort Hays State (Kan.)	69
																1	Westminster	54
																13	Southeastern Oklahoma State	45
	5	Pan American (Texas)	61
	-	Belmont Abbey (N.C.)	58*
						5	Pan American	60
						12	Ferris Institute	66
	-	St. Norbert (Wis.)	68
	12	Ferris Institute (Mich.)	73
											12	Ferris Institute	49
	TOP TIER
											13	Southeastern Oklahoma State	69
	13	Southeastern Oklahoma State	83
	-	College of Idaho	64
						13	Southeastern Oklahoma State	59
						4	Winston-Salem State	50
	-	Indiana State	71
	4	Winston-Salem State (N.C.)	83
																					1	Westminster	53
																					2	Prairie View A&M	62
	3	Georgetown (Ky.)	51
	-	Carson-Newman (Tenn.)	75
						-	Carson-Newman	67
						14	Peru State	65
	-	Mayville State (N.D.)	74
	14	Peru State (Neb.)	90
											-	Carson-Newman	65
	BOTTOM TIER
											10	Western Illinois	91
	-	Florence State (Ala.)	54
	10	St. Cloud State (Minn.)	86
						7	St. Cloud State	68
						10	Western Illinois	84
	7	Western Illinois	76
	-	Pratt Institute (N.Y.)	70
																10	Western Illinois	68
																2	Prairie View A&M	80
	-	Pacific Lutheran (Wash.)	75
	6	Savannah State (Ga.)	84
						6	Savannah State	91
						-	Arizona State-Flagstaff	95
	11	Buena Vista (Iowa)	73
	-	Arizona State-Flagstaff	95
											-	Arizona State-Flagstaff	48
	BOTTOM TIER
											2	Prairie View A&M	86
	15	Morris Harvey (W.Va.)	95
	-	Ouachita Baptist (Ark.)	70
						15	Morris Harvey	70
						2	Prairie View A&M	85
	-	Ashland (Ohio)	64*
	2	Prairie View A&M (Texas)	73

•  * denotes overtime.

Third-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
	13	Southeastern Oklahoma State	76
	10	Western Illinois	62

See also

• 1962 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
• 1962 NCAA College Division basketball tournament