1979 NAIA basketball tournament

The 1979 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. The 42nd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format.

Awards and honors

 * Leading scorer:
 * Leading rebounder:
 * Player of the Year: est. 1994

1979 NAIA bracket

 * * denotes overtime.

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