1948 NAIA basketball tournament
The 1948 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 11th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.
| Teams | 32 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals site | Municipal Auditorium Kansas City, Missouri | ||||
| Champions | Louisville (1st title, 1st title game, 1st Final Four) | ||||
| Runner-up | Indiana State (2nd title game, 2nd Final Four) | ||||
| Semifinalists |
| ||||
| MVP | Duane Klueh (Indiana State) | ||||
| Top scorer | Duane Klueh (Indiana State) (96 points) | ||||
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The championship game featured Louisville beating Indiana State, 82–70.
The only school to have won national titles in both the NAIA and NCAA Division I is Louisville. Uniquely, Indiana State has finished as the National Runner-up in the NAIA (1946 and 1948), the NCAA Division I (1979) and the NCAA Division II (1968) tournaments. Indiana State won the NAIA in 1950.
The tournament was the first intercollegiate postseason to feature a black student-athlete, Clarence J. Walker of Indiana State under coach John Wooden. Wooden had withdrawn from the 1947 tournament because the NAIB would not allow Walker to play.