| Season | 1950–51 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 32 | ||||
| Finals site | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri | ||||
| Champions | Hamline (3rd title, 3rd title game, 5th Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Millikin (1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| MVP | Scotty Steagall (Millikin (Ill.)) | ||||
| |||||
The 1951 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 14th Annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.[1]
The championship game featured Hamline and Millikin. It was the first meeting between these two schools in tournament history. The Pipers of Hamline defeated the Big Blue of Millikin, 69–61.
The 1951 Tournament would be Hamline's 5th trip to the NAIA Final Four, and second tournament win, it was also Millikin's only trip to championship game, NAIA Final Four, and first of eventually four tournament berths. The other teams that rounded out the semifinals were Baldwin-Wallace and Regis. The Baldwin-Wallace Yellow Jackets defeated the Regis Rangers, 82–78.
Hamline's win put them on the leader board for most tournament champions with 3. A record that would last until Tennessee State would win in consecutive years. (1957, 1958, 1959.) Three Championships would be a tournament record until 1996 when Oklahoma City won its 4th Championship Title.