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NCAA refs blasted on Twitter after baffling technical call against Illinois for hanging on rim
By Adam Spencer
Published:
NCAA refs have taken their fair share of criticism during March Madness this year, and that continued Sunday in Pittsburgh.
Illinois freshman RJ Melendez dunked the ball on a breakaway play, hanging on the rim to both slow his momentum and make sure no one was below him.
Naturally, as you can see below, the refs whistled him for a baffling technical foul:
https://twitter.com/FTB_VIDS/status/1505604289716056064
That call set folks on Twitter ablaze with fury. Here’s some of the reaction to the awful technical foul:
I guess the @NCAA doesn’t care about player safety. If he lets go, he lands flat on his back, or even worse his neck.
— RMS (@EGFanZone) March 20, 2022
Ref should be tar and feathered in the public square https://t.co/g1tycCLSxD
— Kevin Aldrich (@KevAldrich3) March 20, 2022
Officials in every sport have a hard job. The best games they have are often never appreciated…
That said…
This is incredibly bad. Bad enough this man should be removed from officiating for the rest of the tournament, and potentially demoted indefinitely. https://t.co/2NaWnJmf3V
— Coach Nate (@NateTompkins) March 20, 2022
This is the worst technical foul in the history of technical fouls https://t.co/oJFPX0r6L8
— Dan Lazinsk (@Dlazi) March 20, 2022
The refs have been AWFUL in March Madness https://t.co/cDf4gr218W
— ASGI Guy (@AsgiGuy) March 20, 2022
I’m not even cheering for Illinois. That’s terrible https://t.co/7lP31hUlEk
— Logan Lewis (@BroganLL) March 20, 2022
What an ABOMINATION!
As BAD of a call as I've EVER seen.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 20, 2022
the worst call of all time, if he lets go then he literally gets injured.
— ??ℝ??? ⛈️ (@tyrese1717) March 20, 2022
Yes, Illinois was already losing at that point, but the technical foul changed the momentum of the game. It’s safe to say the refs won’t have to answer for their inexplicable call, though.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
