NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
Before March Madness begins with the first round on Thursday afternoon, millions are scrambling to assemble what they believe is the perfect field for the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments.
Some will complete one, but others will try their luck with multiple groups, mixing and matching their teams to ultimately produce what they believe is the best possible chance of winning it all.
An NBA All-Star believes that those with a large number of braces under their belt are doing things completely wrong.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Former Iowa State guard and Olympic gold medalist Tyrese Haliburton, who plays for the NBA’s Indiana Pacers, was honored with a halftime ceremony on March 1, 2025, at the Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. He is the eighth Cyclone to win a Gold Medal in the Olympics and the first in men’s basketball. (David K. Purdy/Getty Images)
Tyrese Haliburton turned heads in the college basketball fan space when he posted on X: “Make a stand and stand on it.” As the speech unfolded in the comments section, Pak Gazette Digital asked the Indiana Pacers guard why he feels so strongly that a group is the way to go this time of year.
“I think it’s so boring when people say, ‘Oh, I made so many brackets.’ Damn, how many brackets do you get?” Haliburton said while highlighting his partnership with Reese’s and his March Madness Bracket Busting campaign. “That’s not how it works. It’s because they can’t make up their minds.
“As a society, that’s not how the cookie crumbles. You have to make a decision and stick with it, and that’s how it works.”
COLLEGE BASKETBALL ANALYST JAY BILAS HAS NO CONCERNS ABOUT NIL AFFECTING MARCH MADNESS: ‘HE’S NEVER BEEN BETTER’
Haliburton has analyzed the debate in his comments and there are some positions he can take when creating brackets this week.
“I’ve seen people responding to my tweet with stances that make sense, which are, ‘I make a group that picks my alma mater to win, even though it’s not realistic. And then I make one that’s logical.’ I said, okay, I guess I get it,” he admitted. “But at the same time, every year, if you don’t think your alma mater is going to win, don’t pick them.
“Now, I chose my alma mater to win the national championship.”
Haliburton is the eighth Cyclone to win an Olympic gold medal and the first in men’s basketball, being honored at halftime of an NCAA college basketball game between Iowa State and Arizona in the first half of the game at the Hilton Coliseum on March 1, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. (David Purdy/Getty Images)
Haliburton’s choice of Iowa State makes sense in this case of choosing an alma mater. The Cyclones went 27-7 this year and earned second place in the 64-team Midwest Region.
“We are a [No.] 2 seeds: it can happen. It is possible. But I think other people who are afraid to make that decision, that’s up to them. “They have to live with it,” he added.
The Cyclones will face No. 15 Tennessee State to begin their tournament, and while Haliburton doesn’t take any team lightly, he’s confident his Iowa State team has been “battle-tested” enough to handle the March Madness field.
“I didn’t blink an eye when I made that decision,” he said of choosing Iowa State to win it all. “I knew I was going to make that decision going in. But I think it’s easy for me to make that decision because we’re battle-tested. We play in the best conference in basketball, which is the Big
“When it comes to playing on neutral courts, we’ve been an incredible team, if not the best, in college basketball this year. So I stand by that. I’m confident in that.”
Confidence is key for Haliburton this time of year, which is why he remains steadfast in his stance of playing alone in one group in the field of millions.
Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers walks off the court after a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum on February 6, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
ALL SUPPORTS BUST FOR REESE’S
What Haliburton also relies on is his love for Reese’s Cups, making his partnership with the beloved chocolate and peanut butter candy perfect for March Madness.
As mentioned above, there has never been a perfect group. It’s inevitable that whether you make one or 100, the brackets will break.
But it may not be in vain, as Reese’s is urging college basketball fans to share their broken braces on social media by following @Reeses and using the hashtag #ForAReesesSweeps on Instagram,
“Two of my favorite things coming together. It’s something I’m really excited about,” Haliburton said. “Obviously, everyone’s group is going to fail. So if it’s going to fail, you might as well win something. The fact that you can go on social media, tag Reese’s, put in the hashtag, post your group and have a chance to go to the Final Four, I think is pretty special. It’s really cool and something I’m excited to be a part of.”
Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers watches during their game against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center on January 8, 2026 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Haliburton was also part of a fun Bracket Summit, where he, New York Liberty superstar Breanna Stewart, and college basketball analysts Richard Jefferson and Andraya Carter built and shared their men’s and women’s tournament picks with the world.
While his brackets may be broken, Haliburton simply hopes Iowa State comes out on top in the end.
