# 1961 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1961 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 24th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured the 13th seeded Grambling and the third seeded Georgetown. For the first time since seeding, in 1958, the third-place game featured the first and second seeds, Northern Michigan, and Westminster.

## Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1961 tournament have been broken, and many of the awards were established much later:
* Leading scorer: est. 1963
* Leading rebounder: est. 1963
* Player of the Year: est. 1994
* All-time leading scorer; first appearance: Willis Reed, 16th Grambling (1961,63,64), 12 games 108 field goals 39 free throws 265 total points, 22.8 average per
* All-time leading scorer; second appearance: Hershell West, 15th Grambling (1960,61,63), 13 games, 116 field goals, 37 free throws, 269 total points, 20.7 average per game.

## 1961 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 | Westminster (PA) | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Arkansas State Teachers | 60 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Arkansas State Teachers | 60 | | | 1 | Westminster (PA) | 85 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 16 | Newberry | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Simpson | 58 | | | 16 | Newberry | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Newberry | 64 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 16 | Newberry | 64 | | | | | | 1 | Westminster (PA) | 35 | | | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | 1 | Westminster (PA) | 35 | | | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | 9 | Winston-Salem State | 33 | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Winston-Salem State | 95 | | | | | | | | | 9 | Winston-Salem State | 33 | | | | | | | | |
| - | Westminster (UT) | 70 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Westminster (UT) | 70 | | | 9 | Winston-Salem State | 86 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | - | West Virginia State | 76 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | West Virginia State | 90 | | | - | West Virginia State | 76 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Whitworth | 89 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 8 | Whitworth | 89 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | Westminster (PA) | 44 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | Grambling | 45 | | | | |
| 5 | Anderson (IN) | 85 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | Grambling | 45 | | | | |
| - | St. Bernard | 77 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | St. Bernard | 77 | | | 5 | Anderson (IN) | 86 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 12 | Emporia State | 81* | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Northern State | 72 | | | 12 | Emporia State | 81* | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Emporia State | 77 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Emporia State | 77 | | | | | | 5 | Anderson (IN) | 54 | | | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | 5 | Anderson (IN) | 54 | | | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | 13 | Grambling | 62 | | | | | | | | |
| 13 | Grambling | 107 | | | | | | | | | 13 | Grambling | 62 | | | | | | | | |
| - | Linfield | 85 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Linfield | 85 | | | 13 | Grambling | 80 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | - | Peru State | 60 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Peru State | 72 | | | - | Peru State | 60 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Oglethorpe | 65 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4 | Oglethorpe | 65 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | Grambling | 95 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Georgetown (KY) | 75 |
| 3 | Georgetown (KY) | 88 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Georgetown (KY) | 75 |
| - | Western Montana | 76 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Western Montana | 76 | | | 3 | Georgetown (KY) | 59 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 14 | Redlands | 57 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Savannah State | 80 | | | 14 | Redlands | 57 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Redlands | 89 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 14 | Redlands | 89 | | | | | | 3 | Georgetown (KY) | 84 | | | | | | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | 3 | Georgetown (KY) | 84 | | | | | | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | 7 | Central State (OK) | 83 | | | | | | | | |
| - | Gustavus Adolphus | 63 | | | | | | | | | 7 | Central State (OK) | 83 | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Illinois Wesleyan | 79 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | Illinois Wesleyan | 79 | | | 10 | Illinois Wesleyan | 62 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 7 | Central State (OK) | 84 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Central State (OK) | 80 | | | 7 | Central State (OK) | 84 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | St. Norbert | 73 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | St. Norbert | 73 | | | | | | | | | | 3 | Georgetown (KY) | 101 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Northern Michigan | 67 | | | | |
| - | East Texas Baptist | 70 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Northern Michigan | 67 | | | | |
| 6 | Steubenville | 68 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Steubenville | 68 | | | - | East Texas Baptist | 59 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 11 | Southwest Texas State | 61 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 11 | Southwest Texas State | 70 | | | 11 | Southwest Texas State | 61 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Central Connecticut State | 59 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Central Connecticut State | 59 | | | | | | 11 | Southwest Texas State | 75 | | | | | | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | 11 | Southwest Texas State | 75 | | | | | | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | 2 | Northern Michigan | 80 | | | | | | | | |
| 15 | Maryland State | 74 | | | | | | | | | 2 | Northern Michigan | 80 | | | | | | | | |
| - | Missouri Valley | 89 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Missouri Valley | 89 | | | - | Missouri Valley | 63 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | 2 | Northern Michigan | 79 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| - | Carson–Newman | 60 | | | 2 | Northern Michigan | 79 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Northern Michigan | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
* * denotes overtime.

### Third-place game

The third-place game featured the losing teams from the national semifinalist to determine third and fourth places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.
| NAIA third-place game | NAIA third-place game | NAIA third-place game |
| 1 | Westminster (PA) | 84 |
| 2 | Northern Michigan | 101 |