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Before March Madness tips off with the first round on Thursday afternoon, millions are scrambling to put together what they believe is the perfect bracket for the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments.
Some will fill one, but others will try their luck with multiple brackets, mixing and matching their teams to ultimately produce what they believe is the best possible chance to win it all.
An NBA All-Star believes those with a ton of hardware under their belt are doing things all the wrong way.
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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 at the Olympics and the first in men’s basketball. (David K Purdy/Getty Images)
Tyrese Haliburton turned some heads among college basketball fans when he wrote on the X: “Make a bracket and stand on it.” As the discourse played out in the comments section, Pakinomist Digital asked the Indiana Pacers guard why he feels so strongly that one bracket is the way to go this time of year.
“I think it’s just so lame that people say, ‘Oh, I’ve done so many brackets.’ How many brackets do you get?” Haliburton said while highlighting his partnership with Reese’s and its March Madness Bracket Busting Campaign. “It doesn’t work that way. It’s because they can’t make up their minds.
“As a society, this is not how the cake crumbles. You have to make one choice and stand by it, and that’s how it goes.”
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Haliburton has looked at the debate in his comments and there are some positions he can accept as he builds brackets this week.
“I’ve seen people respond to my tweet with attitudes that make sense, which are, “I’m making a bracket that picks my alma mater to win, even if it’s unrealistic. And then I make one that’s logical.” I said, okay, I get that,” he admitted. “But at the same time, every year, if you don’t believe your alma mater is going to win — don’t pick them.
“Now, me, I picked 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 play at 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 themselves a No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region in the 64-team bracket.
“We are one [No.] 2 seeds – it can happen. It is possible. But I think that other people who are afraid to make that decision, it’s up to them. They have to live with it,” he added.
The Cyclones will take on No. 15 Tennessee State to begin its tournament, and while Haliburton isn’t taking any team lightly, he’s confident his Iowa State squad has been “battle-tested” enough to handle the March Madness court.
“I didn’t blink when I made that decision,” he said of picking Iowa State to win it all. “I knew I was going to make that decision going into it. 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 XIII. It’s not even close. Arizona, the team that ran through the entire conference, didn’t really have a problem with anybody, it took a Hail Mary fadeaway to beat us.
“When it comes to playing on neutral floors, we’ve been incredible, if not the best team in college basketball this year. So I stand by that. I’m sure of that.”
Confidence is key for Haliburton at this time of year, so he is adamant in his stance on playing just one break 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)
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What Haliburton is also sure of is his love for Reese’s Cups, making his partnership with the beloved chocolate-peanut butter candy perfect for March Madness.
As mentioned earlier, there has never been a perfect bracket. It is inevitable that whether you make one or 100, the brackets will break.
But it might not be in vain, as Reese’s is encouraging college basketball fans to share their bracket crushes on social media, follow @Reeses and use the #ForAReessesSweeps hashtag on Instagram, X or TikTok for a chance to win not only free Reese’s Cups, but also the chance to attend the men’s and women’s Final Four Games.
“Two of my favorite things are coming together. It’s something I’m very excited about,” Haliburton said. “Obviously, everybody’s bracket breaks. So if it breaks, it might as well win something out of it. The fact that you can go on social media, tag Reese’s, put the hashtag in, post your bracket and you have a chance to go to the Final Four — I think that’s pretty special. It’s really cool and something I’m a part of.”
Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers looks on during their game against the Charlotte Hornets at 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 bracket may stall, Haliburton simply hopes Iowa State ends up on top in the end.
