1972 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1972 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 35th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.

This year was the first and only tournament since seeding began in 1957 that all 4 top seeded teams made it to the national semi-finals. Seeding was changed in 2016, so each bracket is now seeded 1 thru 8. Kentucky State became the second team to win three titles in a row, joining Tennessee State (1957, 1958, 1959).

Awards and honors

 * Leading scorer: Travis Grant, Kentucky State
 * Leading rebounder: Mike Ratliff, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 81 rebounds in 5 games.
 * Player of the Year: est. 1994
 * Most Points Single Game: 60, Travis Grant, Kentucky State vs. Minot State (N.D.)
 * Most Points Single Tournament: 213, Travis Grant, Kentucky State
 * Most Points, Career: 518, Travis Grant, Kentucky State, 1970-71-72
 * Most Field Goals Made, Game: 27, Travis Grant, Kentucky State vs. Minot State (N.D.)
 * Most Field Goals Made, Tournament: 89, Travis Grant, Kentucky State
 * Most Field Goals Made, Career: 223, Travis Grant, Kentucky State, 1970-71-72

1972 NAIA bracket

 * * denotes overtime.

Third-place game
The third-place game featured the losing teams from the national semifinalist to determine 3rd and 4th places in the tournament. This game was played until 1988.