1967 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1967 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 30th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.^[1] There were only 3 upsets in this tournament. The championship game featured St. Benedict's College (Kan.) and Oklahoma Baptist University. The Ravens would defeat the Biso 71–65. The 3rd place game featured Central Washington University defeating Morris Harvey College (W. Va.) by a score of 106 to 92. 1967 was the final year of 21 straight tournaments to have a player make it on the all-time leading scorers list. The streak that began with Harold Haskins in 1947 ended with Al Tucker in 1967. This streak had peaked in 1957 when 7 all-timers played in one tournament. It is argued that this marked the end of the "golden age" of NAIA basketball. It was the third tournament won by the number one seed.

1967 NAIA men's basketball tournament

Season	1966–67
Teams	32
Finals site	Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri
Champions	St. Benedict's (Kan.) (2nd title, 2nd title game, 2nd Final Four)
Runner-up	Oklahoma Baptist (3rd title game, 3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Central Washington (1st Final Four) Morris Harvey (W. Va.) (1st Final Four)
Coach of the year	Bob Bass (Oklahoma Baptist)
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award	David Benedict (Central Washington)
MVP	Al Tucker (2nd title) (Oklahoma Baptist)
Top scorer	Al Tucker (Oklahoma Baptist) (164 points)
NAIA men's basketball tournament «1966 1968»

Awards and honors

• Leading scorer: Al Tucker, Oklahoma Baptist; 5 games, 164 total points including 65 field goals 34 free throws, averaging 32.8 points per game.
• Leading rebounder: Darryl Jones, St. Benedict's (Kan.); in 5 games Jones would earn 62 rebounds averaging 12.4 per game.
• Player of the Year: est. 1994
• All-time single game performances: 6th; Al Tucker, Oklahoma Baptist; Oklahoma Baptist vs. St. Benedict's (Kan.); Tucker scored 47 points, including 21 field goals and 5 free throws.
• All-time leading scorer; final appearance: Al Tucker, 2nd, Oklahoma Baptist (1965,66,67); 15 games, 177 field goals, 117 free throws, 471 total points (31.4 points per game).^[2]

1967 NAIA bracket

	First round					Second round					Elite Eight					NAIA national semifinals					NAIA national championship
	1	St. Benedict's (Kan.)	80
	-	Linfield (Ore.)	75
						1	St. Benedict's	67
						16	Southern State	56
	-	Eastern Montana	62
	16	Southern State (Ark.)	75
											1	St. Benedict's	88
	TOP TIER
											8	St. Mary's	73
	9	Westminster (Pa.)	84
	-	Oshkosh State (Wis.)	62
						9	Westminster (Pa.)	53
						8	St. Mary's	55
	-	Wartburg (Iowa)	56
	8	St. Mary's (Texas)	59
																1	St. Benedict's	73
																4	Morris Harvey	70
	5	Tennessee Wesleyan	94
	-	Indiana Central	89*
						5	Tennessee Wesleyan	65
						12	Midwestern	59
	-	Dickinson State (N.D.)	77
	12	Midwestern (Texas)	96
											5	Tennessee Wesleyan	68
	TOP TIER
											4	Morris Harvey	75
	13	Millersville State (Pa.)	66
	-	Chadron State (Neb.)	83
						-	Chadron State	76
						4	Morris Harvey	91
	-	Howard Payne (Texas)	85
	4	Morris Harvey (W.Va.)	103
																					1	St. Benedict's	71
																					3	Oklahoma Baptist	65
	3	Oklahoma Baptist	55
	-	Alcorn A&M (Miss.)	52
						3	Oklahoma Baptist	70
						14	Valdosta State	62
	-	Quincy (Ill.)	64
	14	Valdosta State (Ga.)	78
											3	Oklahoma Baptist	66
	BOTTOM TIER
											7	Southwestern Louisiana	65
	7	Southwestern Louisiana	110
	-	Findlay (Ohio)	73
						7	Southwestern Louisiana	70
						10	Central Michigan	62
	-	Albany State (Ga.)	70
	10	Central Michigan	71
																3	Oklahoma Baptist	78
																6	Central Washington State	68
	11	Guilford (N.C.)	70
	-	Boston State (Mass.)	61
						11	Guilford	67
						6	Central Washington State	78
	-	Trenton State (N.J.)	60
	6	Central Washington State	72
											6	Central Washington State	60
	BOTTOM TIER
											2	Eastern New Mexico	58
	15	St. Thomas (Minn.)	72
	-	Claremont-Mudd (Calif.)	63
						15	St. Thomas	67
						2	Eastern New Mexico	69
	-	Rockhurst (Mo.)	59
	2	Eastern New Mexico	64

•  * 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
	4	Morris Harvey	92
	6	Central Washington State	106

See also

• 1967 NCAA University Division basketball tournament
• 1967 NCAA College Division basketball tournament

References

1. "NAIA.org". Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
2. NAIA Championship History Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine