It couldn’t be one player who was going to step up for Oklahoma without De’Vion Harmon in the lineup. That’s a lot to ask of any single member.

But if the collective group could do a little of this, a little of that, then that could fill in the pieces. The Sooners did every little bit of this and that en route to a 72-68 victory against Missouri in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

With the win, OU moves on to play No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga on Monday. The time and TV station will be determined Sunday morning.

It’s a No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup so you figured it would be tight, but Lon Kruger’s group was thrown the curveball earlier in the week when it was revealed Harmon, the team’s sparkplug and second-leading scorer, tested positive for COVID-19, and wouldn’t be able to play the first two rounds.

Win one more and Harmon can come back. And Harmon was among the first to celebrate with the team, FaceTiming with the coaches and teammates following the win.

“There’s nothing better in sports than those spontaneous locker room celebrations,” Kruger said. “You can’t practice them. You can’t express how they fall, the look of satisfaction on the players’ faces and they had De’Vion on FaceTime while that was going on and he had the biggest smile. So again, just always glad that the players can experience as many of those as possible.”

OU could have went one of two ways without Harmon. It could have led to Austin Reaves attempting to do everything by himself, or with a bevy of players doing just that little bit of extra.

It was guys like Elijah Harkless, becoming more of a scoring option. It was Jalen Hill, constantly making heads-up, smart plays. It was Victor Iwuakor giving the energy, and Alondes Williams supplying the highlight dunk.

And then, yea, it was Reaves and Brady Manek. It had to be Reaves in the clutch moments, and the Sooners made enough free throws and never allowed Mizzou the chance to tie it up.

With OU up 70-67, the Tigers took over after blocking a Reaves shot. A dysfunctional offensive possession gave Harkless the golden opportunity to commit a non-shooting foul with 2.5 seconds left.

After making the first, Drew Buggs intentionally missed the second but Hill grabbed the rebound and made both free throws to secure the win.

“Teams practice that, of course, a lot, and we do,” Kruger said. “Kind of use that six second mark. We talked about it in the huddle. Regardless of what happens in the free throws, any time the clock gets under six … It’s one thing to talk about it. Jalen Hill did that once in a game earlier this year, real nice heads-up play and Elijah made a very good, heads up play right there.”

It was the seniors making sure it wouldn’t be their final games as Sooners. Reaves led the way with 23 points, six assists and four rebounds. Manek responded with 19 points and connected on 5 of 9 from 3-point territory.

Someone had to pick up the scoring slack of Harmon, and that was Harkless. He still did his usual, with 10 rebounds and two steals, but the 16 points was massive for someone who usually isn’t that assertive offensively.

“It was big. He’s a big-time player. That’s why he’s here,” Reaves said. “That’s why the coaches wanted him here. Like you said, he did everything he usually does and then produced really well on the offensive end, which we know he’s capable of.

“We’ve seen him for a year now with the capability of being an all-around player. He stepped up on a big stage and made some really big plays. If you watched the game, you could tell he was one of the best players on the floor tonight.”

Notes

*It was Jalen Hill who got the starting nod with Harmon out. He came through with four points and four rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes. He saved his best moments for the final minutes. To go with the rebound and free throws in the final seconds, he made a great save of an errant pass by Reaves and found Manek for a huge 3-pointer to make it 61-57, a catalyst to a 7-0 run.

“Jalen is always where he needs to be,” Kruger said. “Defensively, he's always in the right spot. He's always going to block out. He's a physical rebounder. He does a lot of things that people don't notice, but his teammates notice it and they appreciate it.”

*That’s back-to-back 19-point performances from Manek. For him, it was his time to shine coming out of halftime. He scored eight points in the first four minutes to turn a 27-26 deficit into a 38-29 advantage for the Sooners.

OU has struggled initially out of the break a lot this season, but Saturday was not one of those times because of Manek.

“For Brady to make shots like that, it's super big,” Reaves said. “He's been doing it for a long time now. Four years in a row that he's been one of the best four-man shooters, if not all of basketball, 1-5. It's special just to see it, to be a part of it and I really just want the best for him.”

*One more to go. Provided Harmon, who is asymptomatic, can get the medical clearance, he would be available for next weekend’s game. All that stands from that happening is the top-seeded Bulldogs.

“It sucks for him to not be here,” Reaves said. “We all know how bad he wants to be here. He’s a competitor. He’s a grinder. To get this taken away from him is tough. But I know he was in his room, running around, jumping up and down, yelling at the TV, just to be excited for us to get the win.”