# 1938 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1938 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The second annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.
This was the first tournament to expand to 32 teams. The tournament featured the only forfeit in tournament history when Western Kentucky State forfeited to Simpson due to the Hilltoppers not showing up. Drake was a last second replacement for Cheyney Normal who could not make it to Kansas City on time. The first-round game between Delta State University (Miss.) and Drury gave the first overtime in tournament history. Delta State beat Drury College 52–51 in one overtime.
The championship game featured Central Missouri State defending their first national championship over Roanoke, making them the first team to win back-to-back titles. It would be the last year without a Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player Award.

## Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1938 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:
* Leading scorer est. 1963
* Leading rebounder est. 1963
* Chuck Taylor Most Valuable Player est. 1939
* 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 |
| Marshall | 67 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Peru State | 60 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Peru State | 60 | | | Marshall | 51 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Washburn | 53 | | | | | | | | |
| Washburn | 37 | | | Washburn | 53 | | | | | | | | |
| Winona State | 36 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Winona State | 36 | | | | | Washburn | 44 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | Washburn | 44 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | Jordan | 21 | | | | | | |
| Jordan | 32 | | | | | | | Jordan | 21 | | | | | | |
| Ottawa (KS) | 31 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ottawa (KS) | 31 | | | Jordan | 31 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Simpson | 29 | | | | | | | | |
| Simpson | 2 | | | Simpson | 29 | | | | | | | | |
| Western Kentucky | 0† | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Western Kentucky | 0† | | | | | | | | Washburn | 24 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Central Missouri State | 44 | | | |
| Delta State | 52 | | | | | | | | | | Central Missouri State | 44 | | | |
| Drury | 51* | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Drury | 51* | | | Delta State | 48 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | North Texas State | 39 | | | | | | | | |
| North Texas State | 31 | | | North Texas State | 39 | | | | | | | | |
| Morningside | 29 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Morningside | 29 | | | | | Delta State | 35 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | Delta State | 35 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | Central Missouri State | 48 | | | | | | |
| Valparaiso | 57 | | | | | | | Central Missouri State | 48 | | | | | | |
| Oregon College | 48 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oregon College | 48 | | | Valparaiso | 24 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Central Missouri State | 44 | | | | | | | | |
| Central Missouri State | 36 | | | Central Missouri State | 44 | | | | | | | | |
| Dakota Wesleyan | 33 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dakota Wesleyan | 33 | | | | | | | | | | | Central Missouri State | 45 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Roanoke | 30 |
| Roanoke | 45 | | | | | | | | | | | | | Roanoke | 30 |
| Nebraska Wesleyan | 20 | | | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska Wesleyan | 20 | | | Roanoke | 38 | | | | | |
| | | | | West Texas State | 34 | | | | | |
| West Texas State | 35 | | | West Texas State | 34 | | | | | |
| Westminster (MO) | 34 | | | | | | | | | |
| Westminster (MO) | 34 | | | | | Roanoke | 46 | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | Roanoke | 46 | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | St. Ambrose | 43 | | | |
| St. Ambrose | 50 | | | | | | | St. Ambrose | 43 | | | | |
| Kansas Wesleyan | 35 | | | | | | | | | |
| Kansas Wesleyan | 35 | | | St. Ambrose | 38 | | | | | |
| | | | | Central State (OK) | 36 | | | | | |
| Central State (OK) | 43 | | | Central State (OK) | 36 | | | | | |
| Arkansas State Teachers | 34 | | | | | | | | | |
| Arkansas State Teachers | 34 | | | | | | | | Roanoke | 35 |
| | | | | | | | | | Murray State | 29 |
| Idaho State | 41 | | | | | | | | | | Murray State | 29 | |
| Manchester (IN) | 38 | | | | | | | | | |
| Manchester (IN) | 38 | | | Idaho State | 40 | | | | | |
| | | | | New Mexico A&M State | 56 | | | | | |
| New Mexico A&M State | 53 | | | New Mexico A&M State | 56 | | | | | | | NAIA third-place game | NAIA third-place game |
| McPherson | 37 | | | | | | | | | |
| McPherson | 37 | | | | | New Mexico A&M State | 29 | | | | | Murray State | 33 |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | New Mexico A&M State | 29 | | | | | Murray State | 33 |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | Murray State | 30 | | | | | Washburn | 24 |
| NW Missouri State | 39 | | | | | | | Murray State | 30 | | | | | Washburn | 24 |
| Sioux Falls | 27 | | | | | | | | | |
| Sioux Falls | 27 | | | NW Missouri State | 30 | | | | | |
| | | | | Murray State | 38 | | | | | |
| Murray State | 47 | | | Murray State | 38 | | | | | |
| Drake | 40 | | | | | | | | | |
* * denotes overtime.
* † denotes forfeit.