March Madness 2026: Tyrese Haliburton Picks Surprise Winner For National Championship Game
· Yahoo Sports
Tyrese Haliburton is picking his alma mater, the Iowa State Cyclones, to win the national championship. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
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Getty ImagesTyrese Haliburton is keeping busy these days as March Madness starts for the NCAA Tournament.
The Indiana Pacers star guard is out for this season due to an Achilles injury he suffered during Game 7 of the NBA Finals last year. Haliburton was in the midst of one of the greatest playoff runs in NBA history when he suffered the injury, hitting clutch shot after clutch shot while averaging 17.3 points, 8.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Haliburton said he’s good physically and in a good place mentally. One of the things that is helping him overcome the mental aspect of not being on the court is the NCAA Tournament, which will see his Iowa State Cyclones enter the tourney as the No. 2 seed in the midwest.
The Cyclones were ranked No. 7 in the most recent poll and just posted their best record since the 2013-14 season when they went 28-8.
Haliburton, who starred for Iowa State for two seasons (2018-20) picked the Cyclones to win it all in his bracket for Reese’s “Everything Happens For a Reese’s” bracket.
“For me, I have Iowa State going all the way,” said Haliburton in a one-on-one interview. "Ever since I left college, I pick Iowa State to win. That doesn’t change. This feels the like the best year. I feel the most confident in it this year. I’m very excited for the team, we’ve had a great year so far, so I have them going all the way.
“I have some other picks that obviously are a little different, but feel confident in that pick. I think this is a really deep tournament with really good teams, and definitely looking forward to how it plays out for everybody.”
The Cyclones peaked at No. 2 in the AP Poll this year in January when they were still having a perfect season at 16-0. However, they’ve since gone 11-7 to end the season.
With that being said, Iowa State is the No. 2 seed in their region where their biggest test will likely be against No. 1-seeded Michigan. The Cyclones have a stifling defensive unit, ranking 12th in points allowed per game in the nation and sixth in defensive rating.
Haliburton knows the defense will take care of things, that’s why he mentioned that the offense needs to make shots in order for Iowa State to make a deep run in the tournament as he predicts. Iowa State hasn’t advanced past the regional semifinal since the 1999-00 season.
“We’re always going to defend at a high level,” said Haliburton. "We gotta make shots, which I think we’ve done all March. The game against Arizona is probably the best college basketball game of the season. They just played really well, and so did we. But I think that they definitely have the opportunity there.
“We have to be able to make shots, especially to get through teams like Virginia, Michigan,” Haliburton continued to say. “You got to make shots to beat those teams. But I think I feel confident. I think there's some really good teams out here. I think Arizona has a chance to run the gauntlet. I think Duke does as well. But yeah, I think there's some really good teams in this tournament.”
Tyrese Haliburton's 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket picks for Reese's "Every Bracket Busts" challenge.
Reese'sWhile Haliburton admits bias in his pick for Iowa State, he does have the favorites in the other regions advancing deep. In his Final Four picks, he has Duke and Arizona – both No. 1 seeds and regarded as the top teams in the nation – advancing along with No. 2-seeded Houston. Houston was in the national championship game last year and is an annual contender under veteran coach Kelvin Sampson.
“I probably would go with Duke and Arizona,” said Haliburton if forced to pick a champion outside of Iowa State. "I know one seems like that’s probably not a super surprising pick, but I think that those teams are really deep. Looking at college basketball before we got to March, I thought it was going to be Duke, Arizona or Michigan. But of course, we’re in Michigan's bracket, so I'm not going to say them.
“I think it’s Duke or Arizona,” Haliburton continued to say. “I think Houston has a chance as well. I like them a lot. I like Houston’s team, I like the way Kelvin Sampson coaches and the way that he leads his guys. I can see them having a really good run as well. I could definitely see all those, but it wouldn’t surprise me if you said Duke or Arizona.”
The All-NBA guard went with mostly favorites outside of Iowa State for his picks. When pressed to pick a dark horse for the tournament, Haliburton mentioned Texas Tech, who is the No. 5 seed in the Midwest region without their star player JT Toppin.
“I think two seeds can be a dark horse,” said Haliburton. “If it’s a non-two seed that I could see going for running the gauntlet, it’s probably Illinois. But I think Virginia, I watched that ACC Championship, and they look so good. Those are all three seeds of course, but I’ll say my Big 12 team that I could see having a deep run and beating Michigan would be Texas Tech. Even without JT Toppin I could see them getting to the Elite Eight.”
Haliburton explained what exactly the Reese’s bracket challenge is all about and how if you hashtag the brand and follow Reese’s while posting your bracket, you have a chance to win free candy and go to the Final Four and National Championship.
“Everybody’s bracket is gonna bust,” said Haliburton. “I know mine is probably in the first round for sure. If your bracket is gonna bust, you might as well get something out of it. Partnered with Reese’s, and if you post your bracket and follow Reese’s, do the hashtag and everything, you have a chance to win free Reese’s as well as get a chance to go to the Final Four and the National Championship. I think it’s a win-win for everybody. If you’re going to lose, you might as well win at the same time. That’s what I'm doing with Reese's.”