The 1959 NAIA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 22nd annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. The 1959 Tournament is the first tournament to use the 16-seed system, which is still used today.The championship game again featured Tennessee State University. The Tigers defeated the Lutes of Pacific Lutheran University. It would be the first time any school would win three consecutive tournaments; a feat only repeated once, by Kentucky State, in 1970-1972.