The 1945 NAIA basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 8th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 16 teams playing in a single-elimination format,^[1] instead of the normal 32. It is the only tournament to feature only 16 teams.

The NAIA semifinals featured four new teams for the first time since the inaugural year, 1937.

The championship game featured Loyola New Orleans defeating Pepperdine 49–35. Loyola New Orleans would not go on to win another NAIA national title until 2022, 77 years later.

Many of the records set by the 1945 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^[2]

•  * denotes overtime.

• 1945 NCAA basketball tournament
• 1945 National Invitation Tournament