| Type: | NAIA men's basketball tournament |
| Year: | 1972 |
| Teams: | 32 |
| Finalfourarena: | Municipal Auditorium |
| Finalfourcity: | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Champions: | Kentucky State |
| Titlecount: | 3 |
| Champgamecount: | 3 |
| Runnerup: | Wisconsin Eau Claire |
| Gamecount: | 1 |
| Runnerffcount: | 1 |
| Semifinal1: | Stephen F. Austin |
| Finalfourcount1: | 1 |
| Semifinal2: | Gardner Webb |
| Finalfourcount2: | 1 |
| Coty: | Ken Anderson |
| Cotyschool: | Wisconsin-Eau Claire |
| Mvp: | Travis Grant |
| Mvpteam: | Kentucky State |
| Hustle: | Frank Schade |
| Hustleschool: | Wisconsin Eau Claire |
| Attendance: | unknown |
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.[1]
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).
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.