Kentucky’s second-round men’s NCAA tournament defeat Sunday to Iowa State prompted a petty post from a Cyclones alum: Tyrese Haliburton.
Iowa State routed Kentucky 82-63 behind 26 points from Tamin Lipsey and 20 from Milan Momcilovic. Lipsey had 10 assists and five steals, becoming just the third player with 25 points, 10 assists and five steals in a March Madness game since 1986, according to ESPN Research. Kentucky’s 19-point loss marked its largest in an NCAA tournament game since an Elite Eight defeat against Florida State in 1972.
Moments after the Cyclones’ victory, Haliburton made sure to poke fun at Wildcats alums, some of whom made headlines for supporting Arkansas. He posted on X that he went to text players from Kentucky before coming to a realization.
Went to text the guys who played at Kentucky about this game and forgot they think they Arkansas alum now🤣
— Tyrese Haliburton (@Hali) March 22, 2026
Haliburton was referring to former Wildcats coach John Calipari leaving for Arkansas in April 2024. He joked that since Calipari’s move, former Kentucky stars that now play in the NBA consider themselves Arkansas alums, presumably due to playing for Calipari.
The Oklahoma City Thunder recently posted a video asking their players who they think will win the tournament. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who played for Calipari in 2017-18, said “either Arkansas or Kentucky.” Cason Wallace spent a season at Kentucky in 2022-23 and said Arkansas.
“Coach Cal?” the Thunder admin asked Wallace, who simply replied: “Yeah.”
Other players have done the same since Calipari made the switch. Wildcats alum P.J. Washington visited Calipari at Arkansas in Razorbacks gear in September 2024. Months later, fellow alum Reed Sheppard wore an Arkansas shirt with Kentucky pants when the two programs faced off.
Haliburton seemed to be aware of the trend and didn’t give the former Kentucky players a pass. The Indiana Pacers star spent two seasons at Iowa State before declaring for the draft in 2020. He lost in the first round of his lone March Madness appearance in 2019, but relished his alma mater taking down the Wildcats.
