Iowa State: Tyrese Haliburton and girlfriend Jade Jones spend evening date showing support for alma mater's NCAA tournament matchup

All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton may be busy leading the Indiana Pacers to maintain their spot in the top six in the Eastern Conference playoff race, but that has not stopped him from keeping tabs and supporting his alma mater, Iowa State, in the ongoing NCAA tournament.

The former Cyclone shared in an Instagram story a video clip of him and girlfriend Jade Jones – also a product of Iowa State – spending their date night catching their college play the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the opening round of March Madness on Thursday.

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The Cyclones went on to defeat the Jackrabbits, 82-65 to advance to the second round, where they will play the winner between Washington State and Drake.

Tyrese Haliburton played two seasons at Iowa State, where he had career averages of 10.1 points, 4.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 57 games.

There he met Jones, who was a cheerleader for the Cyclones. They started dating in 2019 and have been together since then.

After playing for Iowa State, Haliburton declared for the 2020 NBA draft, where he was selected with the No. 12 pick by the Sacramento Kings.

He played a season and a half in Sactown before being traded to the Pacers midway into the 2021-22 season.

At Indiana, the 24-year-old Wisconsin native has blossomed into a legit superstar, earning back-to-back All-Star nods (2023 and 2024) and leading the Pacers to improved competitiveness.

In the ongoing season, he is averaging a double-double of 20.4 points and 11.2 assists, to go along with 3.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 32.2 minutes of play.

Tyrese Haliburton loved his time at Iowa State

That Tyrese Haliburton is very supportive of his alma mater nearly half a decade since he departed is not at all surprising, as he said he loved and enjoyed his time at Iowa State.

Playing two years with the Cyclones, he used it as a good jump-off point to building a now solid career in the NBA.

In his final year at Iowa State, he averaged career-highs of 15.2 points, 6.5 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 steals in 36.7 minutes of play. His sophomore season was cut short by a wrist fracture, but he already made a huge impression to earn a lottery pick nod in the 2020 NBA draft.

In an interview with the Cyclone Fanatic, after he declared for the NBA, Tyrese Haliburton spoke of his time at Iowa State and how fortunate he was of landing at the university.

He said:

"It's been a dream come true. I love Iowa State. Love everything about it... All the people there, the culture, the players and just friends I've made in the university. I'm going to miss them a lot and it was defnitely a tough decision [to leave]."

Apart from Haliburton, other standout Cyclones who played in the NBA include Jeff Hornacek, Fred Hoiberg, Georges Niang, Jamal Tinsley and Wesley Johnson.