# 1979 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1979 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The 42nd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.

## Awards and honors

* Leading scorer:
* Leading rebounder:
* Player of the Year: est. 1994

## 1979 NAIA bracket

| First round | First round | First round | | | Second round | Second round | Second round | Elite Eight | Elite Eight | Elite Eight | | NAIA national semifinals | NAIA national semifinals | NAIA national semifinals | | NAIA national championship | NAIA national championship | NAIA national championship |
| 1 | Cameron (Okla.) | 76 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Central State (Ohio) | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Central State (Ohio) | 69 | | | 1 | Cameron | 74* | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 16 | Tri-State | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Southern Maine | 61 | | | 16 | Tri-State | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Tri-State (Ind.) | 84 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Tri-State (Ind.) | 84 | | | | | | 1 | Cameron | 73 | | | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | 1 | Cameron | 73 | | | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | 8 | Southwest Texas State | 77* | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | St. John's (Minn.) | 83* | | | | | | | | | 8 | Southwest Texas State | 77* | | | | | | | | |
| - | West Virginia Wesleyan | 81 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | West Virginia Wesleyan | 81 | | | 9 | St. John's | 75 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 8 | Southwest Texas State | 79 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Kentucky State | 74 | | | 8 | Southwest Texas State | 79 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Southwest Texas State | 78 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Southwest Texas State | 78 | | | | | | | | | | 8 | Southwest Texas State | 57 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Henderson State | 58 | | | | |
| 5 | Henderson State (Ark.) | 70 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Henderson State | 58 | | | | |
| - | Point Park (Pa.) | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Point Park (Pa.) | 69 | | | 5 | Henderson State | 84* | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 12 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 78 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Central Wesleyan (S.C.) | 48 | | | 12 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 78 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 84 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Wisconsin-Eau Claire | 84 | | | | | | 5 | Henderson State | 70 | | | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | 5 | Henderson State | 70 | | | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | - | Quincy | 69 | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Southern Tech (Ga) | 75 | | | | | | | | | - | Quincy | 69 | | | | | | | | |
| - | California State-Dominguez Hills | 66 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | California State-Dominguez Hills | 66 | | | 13 | Southern Tech | 57 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | - | Quincy | 61 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Quincy (Ill.) | 77 | | | - | Quincy | 61 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Birmingham–Southern (Ala.) | 75 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Birmingham–Southern (Ala.) | 75 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | Henderson State | 54 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Drury | 60 |
| 3 | Drury (Mo.) | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Drury | 60 |
| - | Hanover (Ind.) | 60 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Hanover (Ind.) | 60 | | | 3 | Drury | 72 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 14 | Kearney State | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | LeMoyne-Owen (Tenn.) | 79 | | | 14 | Kearney State | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Kearney State (Neb.) | 98 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Kearney State (Neb.) | 98 | | | | | | 3 | Drury | 89 | | | | | | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | 3 | Drury | 89 | | | | | | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | 6 | Briar Cliff | 84 | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | High Point (N.C.) | 91 | | | | | | | | | 6 | Briar Cliff | 84 | | | | | | | | |
| - | Oregon Tech | 62 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Oregon Tech | 62 | | | 11 | High Point | 65 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 6 | Briar Cliff | 76 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Louisiana College | 69 | | | 6 | Briar Cliff | 76 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 83 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Briar Cliff (Iowa) | 83 | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Drury | 77 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | - | Midwestern State | 59 | | | | |
| 7 | Central Washington | 83 | | | | | | | | | | | | | - | Midwestern State | 59 | | | | |
| - | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 62 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 62 | | | 7 | Central Washington | 66 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | - | Midwestern State | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Midwestern State (Tex.) | 64 | | | - | Midwestern State | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Grand Valley State (Mich.) | 63 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Grand Valley State (Mich.) | 63 | | | | | | - | Midwestern State | 77* | | | | | | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | - | Midwestern State | 77* | | | | | | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | - | Marymount | 76 | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Norfolk State (Virginia) | 64 | | | | | | | | | - | Marymount | 76 | | | | | | | | |
| - | St. John Fisher(N.Y.) | 57 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | St. John Fisher(N.Y.) | 57 | | | 15 | Norfolk State | 77 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | - | Marymount | 87 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Marymount (Kan.) | 79 | | | - | Marymount | 87 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Grand Canyon (Ariz.) | 74 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* * denotes overtime.

### Third-place game

The third-place game featured the losing national semifinalist teams to determine 3rd and 4th places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.
| NAIA third-place game | NAIA third-place game | NAIA third-place game |
| 8 | Southwest Texas State | 101 |
| - | Midwestern State | 88 |