Kentucky’s second-round men’s NCAA Tournament loss to Iowa State on Sunday prompted a short post from a Cyclone alum: Tyrese Halliburton.
Iowa State beat Kentucky 82-63 behind Tamin Lipsey’s 26 points and Milan Momcilovic’s 20 points. According to ESPN Research, Lipsey had 10 assists and five steals in a March Madness game since 1986, becoming just the third player with 25 points, 10 assists and five steals. Kentucky’s 19-point loss in an NCAA Tournament game was the largest since an Elite Eight loss to Florida State in 1972.
Moments after the Cyclones’ victory, Halliburton made sure to poke fun at Wildcat alums, some of whom made headlines to support Arkansas. He posted on X that he went to text players from Kentucky before realizing.
Texting people who played at Kentucky about this game forgot they were now Arkansas alums 🤣
— Tyrese Halliburton (@hali) March 22, 2026
Halliburton was referring to former Wildcats coach John Calipari moving to Arkansas in April 2024. He joked that since Calipari’s move, former Kentucky stars who now play in the NBA consider themselves Arkansas alums, perhaps because of 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 one season at Kentucky in 2022-23 and committed to Arkansas.
“Coach Cal?” asked Thunder administrator Wallace, who simply replied: “Yes.”
Other players have done the same since Calipari made the switch. Wildcat alum PJ Washington visited Calipari in Arkansas in Razorbacks gear in September 2024. A few months later, fellow alum Reed Shepard wore an Arkansas shirt with Kentucky pants when the two programs faced off.
Halliburton seemed aware of the trend and didn’t give 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 enjoyed his alma mater by taking down the Wildcats.
