March Madness: Officials call controversial technical on Illinois player for hanging on rim

Illinois guard RJ Melendez got a technical foul after a fast-break dunk during the second half of the Illini's second-round men's NCAA tournament loss to Houston.

Melendez was sprinting down court before he dunked the ball and it was obvious to anyone watching that he had to hold onto the rim to prevent himself from flying off and potentially landing dangerously. But the officials calling the game somehow ruled that Melendez intentionally hung on the rim for longer than he needed to and he was assessed a technical foul.

Take a look at the dunk. Former NBA star Reggie Miller was rightly incredulous about the call on the CBS broadcast and the moment was a potential turning point in the half.

Hanging on the rim after a dunk is not allowed unless a player is grabbing the rim to avoid injuring himself and/or land on another player. And it’s not like Melendez did a pull-up or hung on the rim for an inordinate amount of time after his dunk. How it was obvious to all of us watching on television and not the officials paid to referee the basketball game is unclear. A ticky-tack at best call like that doesn't need to be made in the final 10 minutes of a close NCAA tournament game.

Melendez’s dunk cut Houston’s lead to 46-42 with 8:38 to go in the second half as the Illini kept trying to creep back into the game. But Houston extended that lead to five after the technical as Jamal Shead made one of the two free throws and Illinois' chances at a win quickly disappeared despite briefly cutting Houston's lead to two in the minutes after the technical.

The No. 5 Cougars extended their lead to double digits over the course of the rest of the game before an eventual 68-53 win over the No. 4 Illini to advance to the Sweet 16 in the South Region.

Illinois coach Brad Underwood was rightly upset at the officials and continued to express his displeasure with them during the next TV timeout. The officiating during the NCAA tournament so far has been rocky at times, including during the second half of North Carolina's overtime upset win over Baylor. After the game, Underwood said that the official told him after the fact that the call shouldn't have been made.

“Yeah it’s deflating,” Underwood said. You make a play, it changes the momentum of the game. And have that called in the moment? I can’t wait to see it. He told me he shouldn’t ever have called it, but in the moment he calls it. Maybe it’s personal, I don’t know. When a kid has full head of steam going 100 miles an hour and we all talk about safety and well-being of student-athletes, come on. And then to kill momentum like that? Horrible.”

There won't be an official explanation of the technical from the officiating crew working the game either. Per NCAA policy, a pool reporter covering the game can only ask officials to explain situations that are black-and-white rulebook calls and not a judgment call like was made against Melendez.