Illinois guard RJ Melendez was assessed a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a fast break dunk with 8:38 remaining in Sunday’s game between No. 5 Houston and No. 4 Illinois.
Both live and during the play and on replay, it appeared as though Melendez was not hanging on the rim after his dunk to taunt the opponent. Instead, it looked like he was hanging on the rim to stop his momentum so that he could come down with a safe landing and not injure himself.
Fans of the Illini in the arena and observers on social media seemed to agree that the officials missed this one.