PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – MARCH 20: Trent Frazier #1 and RJ Melendez #15 of the Illinois Fighting Illini react after being defeated by the Houston Cougars 68-53 during the second round of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at PPG PAINTS Arena on March 20, 2022 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Illinois’ RJ Melendez was called for a technical foul after a two-handed dunk vs. Houston and and college basketball media and fans like were in disbelief.
The Houston Cougars defeated Illinois in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday to move on to the Sweet 16, but people are going to be blasting the refs for a while. In the second half, with things close, RJ Melendez got the ball in open space and flew down the court for a sweet dunk.
The story doesn’t end there. Melendez hung on to the rim for a little extra time, but it was his body’s momentum which made that happen. Still, the refs decided to call a technical on him. This came with it being a four-point game, which was brutal for the Illini.
People are outraged RJ Melendez was called for a technical foul
How in the world was that called a technical. With the game being so close too, there’s just no reason for this to happen. Illinois fans were downright furious, and their anger was matched by so many.
What an ABOMINATION!
As BAD of a call as I’ve EVER seen.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 20, 2022
sure, that guy would have fallen 10 feet onto his head/neck if he’d let go of the rim, but isn’t Respecting The Game more important than being alive
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) March 20, 2022
Can we please get rid of hanging on the rim as a tech. Who actually cares?
— Robbie Hummel (@RobbieHummel) March 20, 2022
There is absolutely no truth to the rumor Joe West called that technical foul on RJ Melendez.
— Steve Greenberg (@SLGreenberg) March 20, 2022
The extra tug of the rim on the swing back was what got Illinois the tech.
Deserved? Prolly not.
But ref was 10 feet from me and as soon as Melendez yanked it the whistle blew.
Somewhere, a militant NFL official just flinched.— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) March 20, 2022
imagine thinking a foul for hanging on the rim was a necessary thing
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 20, 2022
That might be the worst technical foul I’ve ever seen called.
— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 20, 2022
The extra tug of the rim on the swing back was what got Illinois the tech.
Deserved? Prolly not.
But ref was 10 feet from me and as soon as Melendez yanked it the whistle blew.
Somewhere, a militant NFL official just flinched.— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) March 20, 2022
There’s even more tweets like the ones above of people going in on the refs. Was that one of the worst calls in the NCAA Tournament in the last 10 years? That’s the general belief right now on Twitter.
Illinois basketball coach Brad Underwood responds to controversial technical foul vs. Houston
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood couldn’t believe the call, as he was livid on the bench. That anger won’t be going away soon.
#Illini coach Brad Underwood on Melendez dunk & tech:
“You make a play and then to have that call? (The ref) told me in the moment he should have never called it but in the moment he called it. So maybe it’s personal? I don’t know. C’mon & to kill momentum like that? Horrible.”
— Matthew Stevens (@matthewcstevens) March 20, 2022
In the end, Houston closed out the contest strong and recorded its 68-53 victory. The Cougars went on a 22-11 run after that Melendez technical to punch their tickets to the next round. If you ask just about anyone who was watching the game, though, the technical for the slam was a complete and total disgrace.
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