1961 NAIA basketball tournament
| Season | 1960–61 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 32 | ||||
| Finals site | Municipal Auditorium, Kansas City, Missouri | ||||
| Champions | Grambling Tigers (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Georgetown Tigers (1st title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
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| Coach of the year | Rex Pyles (Alderson Broaddus) | ||||
Charles Stevenson Hustle Award | Dick Vories (Georgetown (KY)) | ||||
| MVP | Charles Hardnett (Grambling) | ||||
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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.