The 1974 NAIA men's basketball tournament was held in March at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri. The 37th annual NAIA basketball tournament featured 32 teams playing in a single-elimination format. It would be the last tournament to be played in Municipal until 2002. In 1975, it would be held in the new Kemper Arena. Kemper would host the NAIA Tournament until 1993, when the NAIA would move the tournament and its offices to Tulsa.
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.