# 1941 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1941 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 5th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.
The third time was the charm for the San Diego State Aztecs. After losing the previous two years to Southwestern College and Tarkio College, the Aztecs finally won beating Murray State, 36–34.
It also was the first time that the tournament MVP was awarded to a player whose team did not win the championship, or make the NAIA Final Four (Charles Thomas played for Northwestern State which lost in the second round to Texas Wesleyan. San Diego State was the first team to make it to the championship game three times.

## Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1941 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 | First round | | | Second round | Second round | Elite Eight | Elite Eight | | NAIA national semifinals | NAIA national semifinals | | NAIA national championship | NAIA national championship |
| West Texas State | 77 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dubuque | 39 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dubuque | 39 | | | West Texas State | 52 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | St. Mary’s (MN) | 39 | | | | | | | | |
| Saint Mary’s (MN) | 38 | | | St. Mary’s (MN) | 39 | | | | | | | | |
| Tarkio | 28 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Tarkio | 28 | | | | | West Texas State | 54 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | West Texas State | 54 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | Delta State | 34 | | | | | | |
| Superior State | 51 | | | | | | | Delta State | 34 | | | | | | |
| Morningside | 42 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Morningside | 42 | | | Superior State | 45 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Delta State | 53 | | | | | | | | |
| Delta State | 52 | | | Delta State | 53 | | | | | | | | |
| Sioux Falls | 35 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sioux Falls | 35 | | | | | | | | West Texas State | 40 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | San Diego State | 43 | | | |
| Northwestern State (LA) | 50 | | | | | | | | | | San Diego State | 43 | | | |
| Central Missouri State | 43 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Central Missouri State | 43 | | | Northwestern State (LA) | 47 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Texas Wesleyan | 56 | | | | | | | | |
| Texas Wesleyan | 71 | | | Texas Wesleyan | 56 | | | | | | | | |
| Evansville | 62 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Evansville | 62 | | | | | Texas Wesleyan | 42 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | Texas Wesleyan | 42 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | San Diego State | 44 | | | | | | |
| Culver-Stockton | 40 | | | | | | | San Diego State | 44 | | | | | | |
| Texas Western | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas Western | 26 | | | Culver-Stockton | 41* | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | San Diego State | 46 | | | | | | | | |
| San Diego State | 46 | | | San Diego State | 46 | | | | | | | | |
| Western Montana | 29 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Western Montana | 29 | | | | | | | | | | | San Diego State | 36 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Murray State | 34 |
| Stephen F. Austin | 64 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Murray State | 34 |
| Simpson | 50 | | | | | | | | | |
| Simpson | 50 | | | Stephen F. Austin | 28 | | | | | |
| | | | | NW Missouri State | 34 | | | | | |
| NW Missouri State | 35 | | | NW Missouri State | 34 | | | | | |
| Dakota Wesleyan | 31 | | | | | | | | | |
| Dakota Wesleyan | 31 | | | | | NW Missouri State | 43 | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | NW Missouri State | 43 | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | Murray State | 46 | | | |
| Alma | 43 | | | | | | | Murray State | 46 | | | | |
| Panhandle A&M | 24 | | | | | | | | | |
| Panhandle A&M | 24 | | | Alma | 33 | | | | | |
| | | | | Murray State | 51 | | | | | |
| Murray State | 68 | | | Murray State | 51 | | | | | |
| Oregon College | 46 | | | | | | | | | |
| Oregon College | 46 | | | | | | | | Murray State | 35 |
| | | | | | | | | | Santa Barbara | 33 |
| Appalachian State | 63 | | | | | | | | | | Santa Barbara | 33 | |
| Baker (KS) | 42 | | | | | | | | | |
| Baker (KS) | 42 | | | Appalachian State | 48 | | | | | |
| | | | | Baltimore | 36 | | | | | |
| Baltimore | 52 | | | Baltimore | 36 | | | | | | | NAIA Third-place game | NAIA Third-place game |
| Omaha | 35 | | | | | | | | | |
| Omaha | 35 | | | | | Appalachian State | 29 | | | | | West Texas State | 43 |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | Appalachian State | 29 | | | | | West Texas State | 43 |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | Santa Barbara | 36 | | | | | Santa Barbara | 35 |
| Santa Barbara | 32 | | | | | | | Santa Barbara | 36 | | | | | Santa Barbara | 35 |
| Wayne State (NE) | 26 | | | | | | | | | |
| Wayne State (NE) | 26 | | | Bemidji State | 29* | | | | | |
| | | | | Santa Barbara | 31 | | | | | |
| Bemidji State | 35 | | | Santa Barbara | 31 | | | | | |
| Pittsburg State | 33 | | | | | | | | | |
* * denotes overtime.