When the Indiana Pacers face the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday, the exhibition game will have a college-like atmosphere.
That’s because the game is being played at Hilton Coliseum, on the campus of Iowa State University, and former Cyclones guard Tyrese Haliburton is treating students to the game.
Haliburton wanted college students there, so he provided the tickets — purchasing every ticket in the student sections at both ends of the court.
It’s not something he’s broadcast or done loudly.
“He bought both end zones worth of tickets for everybody,” Micah Byars, director of basketball operations at Iowa State, told me on the Fieldhouse Files podcast. “They did a lottery here. I mean, it was instantaneous sellout. Everybody wanted to register for it. They went over the number of requests, but he bought all those tickets.
“It can be a throwaway gesture for some people, but when you really get into it and the dichotomy of it and understand how much the student section means to him and to Jade and all the people around him.”
The Pacers are playing the game at Iowa State for Haliburton, who was a point guard for the Cyclones from 2018-20. It’s where he met his now-wife, Jade Jones, who was a cheerleader. He proposed to her at center court last summer.
This is Tyrese taking care of students who are passionate about Iowa State — and may have followed him since his time there.
“I think it’s cool because a lot of the students now were kids when I was in college,” Haliburton told reporters after practice on Tuesday. “When I was 18 in college, some of these kids were like 10 years old, as crazy as that is to say, you know? So I think it’ll be fun for everybody. I know there’s nobody as passionate about Iowa State as the current students. So I’m excited for them to be there and just experience all that.
“Listen, the college basketball environment is much better than the NBA from top to bottom perspective. So I’m excited for there to be a college basketball feel in there.”
NBA games can too often have a corporate feel, so Haliburton is excited for his teammates to experience his college environment. But there will be Timberwolves fans, too.
It’s a perfect opponent for the Pacers because Minnesota’s G League team — the Iowa Wolves — plays about 40 minutes away in Des Moines.
I’m excited for everybody to experience Hilton Coliseum,” Haliburton said, “especially the guys like T.J. (McConnell) who went to Arizona, who’s now in the Big 12 and sees what it’s like. He didn’t get to experience that, so just excited for everybody to get to experience it.”
Haliburton made his public return to the court on Sunday at Pacers FanJam, playing almost 11 minutes. But it’s also fitting that his first preseason action since the injury — in June 2025 — will come in Ames. He’s hopeful to play at least a half.
Hilton Coliseum has a capacity of 14,267 — and the game is sold out, according Ticketmaster.
The exhibition game back in Ames, Iowa, was supposed to happen one year ago. But the Pacers changed plans after Haliburton suffered an Achilles injury in the NBA Finals that kept him out for the entire 2025-26 season.
“Think about it, he’s giving back,” Byars said. “For an opportunity that is almost being given back to him, he’s turning around and flipping the script and giving back to people. It’s just his character. Someone gives him something and he’s like, I’m gonna do double in return. And that’s just speaks to his personality.”
Now, the Pacers are taking over Hilton Coliseum and beginning their four-game preseason slate Wednesday, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. ET.
The game can be seen on the new TV home of the Pacers, DAZN.