Bobby Pettiford Jr. sends Kansas basketball to Battle 4 Atlantis final with OT winner

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas — A little luck and a bit of skill.

A mix of hope and belief.

When Kansas sophomore guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. flipped the basketball toward the basket with about one second left in overtime Thursday, the odds of it falling through the net seemed as improbable as the ball even getting to him just moments earlier. Sophomore forward Zach Clemence had just missed a 3-pointer. A Wisconsin defender looked as if he was in position to grab the rebound and seal a Badgers win.

But in came Jayhawks redshirt junior forward Jalen Wilson, who did enough to keep the Wisconsin player from corralling the missed shot and direct it toward Pettiford under the basket. Pettiford, catching the ball while jumping in the air, swung it around his body and threw it up with his right hand in one motion. It went off the backboard and in.

And so, reflecting on his game-winning shot postgame, Pettiford pointed toward those combinations of thoughts that ran through his mind when he took it. Luck and skill, along with hope and belief. All of it leading to a smile after No. 3 Kansas’ 69-68 win that clinched the Jayhawks (6-0) a spot in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament championship game.

“(Wilson) keeps the ball alive, and Bobby catches it in mid air and then somehow gathers and shoots it from the other side of the rim with the right English,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “So, I don’t know that he can make it again in 10 attempts, but it was good that he made the one that he did.”

Self understands this wasn’t the best game college basketball has seen yet this season. He anticipated heading in it wouldn’t be the prettiest sight in the world. But he noted as well there may not have been a more exciting finish than this one.

Kansas held a 13-point lead at halftime before squandering it, regaining control with a little less than four minutes left and then fighting to stay alive after another Wisconsin run. To even get to overtime, Jayhawks redshirt senior guard Kevin McCullar Jr. had to hit a 3-pointer on a second-chance opportunity with not much more than 10 seconds left in the second half. In overtime, the two teams traded baskets.

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On one side the Jayhawks had Wilson to carry them, especially in overtime after McCullar fouled out, and he finished with a 29-point and 14-rebound double-double. On the other hand, the Badgers (4-1) had senior forward Tyler Wahl, who finished with a double-double of his own at 23 points and 10 rebounds. Pettiford, who hadn’t hit a shot all game, played the role of the savior off the bench that Self indicated Pettiford could have done even if McCullar had never fouled out.

“We were going to go small and play,” Self said. “Take (sophomore forward) KJ (Adams Jr.) out and just try to switch everything in front. So, yeah, Bobby would have probably been on the floor late — especially on the last offensive sequence. Yeah, he would.”

McCullar’s own heroics, though, are why Pettiford had that chance at all. Despite starting 0-for-6 from the field, including 0-for-4 from behind the arc, McCullar hit seven of his next 10 shots, including three of his next five 3s. McCullar finished with nine rebounds, three assists and a block as well, with only one turnover.

Self said McCullar’s percentage on 3s didn’t end up looking great, but believes McCullar’s numbers will improve as long as he is confident shooting the ball. McCullar has already proven himself among the team’s best rebounders. Better shooting will only elevate his game.

“Just tried to keep playing,” McCullar said. “My teammates kept encouraging me, ‘Man, keep shooting it.’ Just trusting the work I put in and then, later I finally hit one. It was a big shot. We needed it.”

As they left the court, fans chanted Pettiford’s name inside the Imperial Arena. “Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!” they yelled. And Pettiford celebrated right along with them.

Pettiford played a role on a national championship team last season, but there was no shot that season or that he could think of ever that compares to the shot he made Thursday against Wisconsin. That the fans were supporting him the way they were after he hit it just made it that much better. It’s something he likely won’t soon forget.

“I mean, that was crazy, honestly,” Pettiford said. “I was just smiling, laughing with my teammates, just shaking the fans' hands.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Bobby Pettiford Jr. sends Kansas basketball to Battle 4 Atlantis final