# 1943 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1943 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 7th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The championship game featured Southeast Missouri State defeating Northwest Missouri State 34–32.
This was the first tournament to feature a championship game between two teams from the same state, Missouri, playing in Missouri. The 3rd place game featured the first overtime in the NAIA Final Four history when North Texas State defeated Murray State 59–55 in one overtime.

## Awards and honors

Many of the records set by the 1943 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 |
| SE Missouri State | 50 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dakota Wesleyan | 30 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dakota Wesleyan | 30 | | | SE Missouri State | 56 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Westminster | 33 | | | | | | | | |
| Westminster (MO) | 48 | | | Westminster | 33 | | | | | | | | |
| Loyola Chicago | 45* | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Loyola Chicago | 45* | | | | | SE Missouri State | 57 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | SE Missouri State | 57 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | Eastern Washington State | 51 | | | | | | |
| Eastern Washington State | 54 | | | | | | | Eastern Washington State | 51 | | | | | | |
| Valparaiso | 42 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Valparaiso | 42 | | | Eastern Washington State | 54 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | St. Cloud State | 41 | | | | | | | | |
| St. Cloud State | 59 | | | St. Cloud State | 41 | | | | | | | | |
| Texas Wesleyan | 54 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas Wesleyan | 54 | | | | | | | | SE Missouri State | 38 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Murray State | 36 | | | |
| Murray State | 72 | | | | | | | | | | Murray State | 36 | | | |
| SW Missouri State | 44 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SW Missouri State | 44 | | | Murray State | 44 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Southwestern (KS) | 42 | | | | | | | | |
| Southwestern (KS) | 70 | | | Southwestern (KS) | 42 | | | | | | | | |
| Ouachita Baptist | 36 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ouachita Baptist | 36 | | | | | Murray State | 44 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | Murray State | 44 | | | | | | |
| TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | TOP TIER | George Pepperdine | 38 | | | | | | |
| George Pepperdine | 50 | | | | | | | George Pepperdine | 38 | | | | | | |
| Kearney State | 45 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Kearney State | 45 | | | George Pepperdine | 43 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | Luther | 38 | | | | | | | | |
| Luther | 31 | | | Luther | 38 | | | | | | | | |
| Southwestern State (OK) | 29 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Southwestern State (OK) | 29 | | | | | | | | | | | SE Missouri State | 34 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | NW Missouri State | 32 |
| York (NE) | 52 | | | | | | | | | | | | | NW Missouri State | 32 |
| Akron | 49 | | | | | | | | | |
| Akron | 49 | | | York | 49 | | | | | |
| | | | | North Texas State | 51 | | | | | |
| North Texas State | 60 | | | North Texas State | 51 | | | | | |
| Stout Institute | 37 | | | | | | | | | |
| Stout Institute | 37 | | | | | North Texas State | 45 | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | North Texas State | 45 | | | |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | Hamline | 41 | | | |
| East Central State | 53 | | | | | | | Hamline | 41 | | | | |
| South Dakota State | 47 | | | | | | | | | |
| South Dakota State | 47 | | | East Central State | 39 | | | | | |
| | | | | Hamline | 41 | | | | | |
| Hamline | 65 | | | Hamline | 41 | | | | | |
| Central (MO) | 38 | | | | | | | | | |
| Central (MO) | 38 | | | | | | | | North Texas State | 31 |
| | | | | | | | | | NW Missouri State | 47 |
| Kansas Wesleyan | 43 | | | | | | | | | | NW Missouri State | 47 | |
| Lawrence Tech | 42 | | | | | | | | | |
| Lawrence Tech | 42 | | | Kansas Wesleyan | 40 | | | | | |
| | | | | Appalachian State | 54 | | | | | |
| Appalachian State | 48 | | | Appalachian State | 54 | | | | | | | NAIA third-place game | NAIA third-place game |
| Simpson | 31 | | | | | | | | | |
| Simpson | 31 | | | | | Appalachian State | 34 | | | | | Murray State | 55* |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | Appalachian State | 34 | | | | | Murray State | 55* |
| BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | BOTTOM TIER | NW Missouri State | 46 | | | | | North Texas State | 59 |
| Eastern Oregon | 45 | | | | | | | NW Missouri State | 46 | | | | | North Texas State | 59 |
| Illinois Wesleyan | 40 | | | | | | | | | |
| Illinois Wesleyan | 40 | | | Eastern Oregon State | 24 | | | | | |
| | | | | NW Missouri State | 61 | | | | | |
| NW Missouri State | 37 | | | NW Missouri State | 61 | | | | | |
| Indiana State | 28 | | | | | | | | | |
* * denotes overtime.