SPOKANE — Gonzaga coach Mark Few said several times leading up to Monday’s season opener against Baylor there’s not much difference between the Zags’ starters and top reserves.
Both put on a show against the eighth-ranked Bears. Dusty Stromer and Braden Huff provided big minutes off the bench and the starting five — Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Ben Gregg and Graham Ike — kept the throttle down.
No. 6 Gonzaga raced in front by 19 points at half and cruised to an impressive 101-63 victory in front of a full house of 12,000 at the Spokane Arena.
The 38-point final margin was GU’s largest against a top-10 foe and the largest by any team in a season opener against a top-10 opponent in AP poll history. GU’s previous high was 20 points against No. 2 UCLA in 2021 in Las Vegas and 20 vs. No. 8 Washington in 2006.
“Ton of respect for Gonzaga because if you’re not on point, they make you look really bad,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “Coach (Mark) Few had them ready to go. They really exploited our switching (defensively) and then offensively we did a really poor job — 3 for 21 (on 3-pointers) made us a bad offensive team. Eleven assists, 12 turnovers, only eight second-chance points, that’s not Baylor basketball.
“For Baylor fans that stayed up (for a game that tipped off at 10:30 CT), I promise you we’ll get a lot better. As far as Gonzaga goes, I think they’re going to have a special year, and I always cheer for them when we’re not playing them.”
Stromer hit the first of his three first-half 3-pointers shortly after checking in to put GU on top for good, 11-8. Huff followed with a bucket inside off Nembhard’s assist, Stromer connected on another 3 and Huff added a layup.
“They just came in and played with great confidence and were very, very assertive,” Few said. “That’s the beauty of this team. We have some nice depth.”
Stromer, a 6-6 sophomore wing, and Huff, a 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, combined to score 17 consecutive GU points as the Zags moved in front 30-18. Hickman heated up with consecutive baskets and a long 3-pointer that pushed GU’s lead to 21 late in the half.
“This whole group has a ton of trust in each other,” Huff said. “We have a lot of returners, guys that are new fit in pretty seamlessly. To come off the bench and be able to contribute is pretty easy when you have teammates and coaches that have lot of trust in you.”
Baylor switched on screens early and the Zags capitalized on mismatches inside. Ike and Huff combined for 29 points, six assists and just two turnovers.
“We were playing through B-Huff and Graham pretty much all night. They were drawing double teams, and they did a great job,” Few said. “Our guys made the right read and the right play.”
When the Bears went to a zone defense, Hickman got free on the baseline for a floater.
Gonzaga hit 54.3% from the field and had 13 assists on 19 baskets in the opening half.
GU’s defense, which yielded 96 points to USC in an exhibition loss, limited Baylor to 36.4% shooting and just 2 of 13 on 3-pointers in the first half.
“We put up a 100 on a great team and kind of a scary team. They’re really athletic and do a lot of different things on the defensive end to mix it up,” Few said. “Nolan and Dusty really opened up the rim for us midway through that first half.”
Freshman VJ Edgecombe, projected as a lottery pick, didn’t score in the first 17-plus minutes and he had one shot in the lane swatted away by Battle, leading to a Hickman layup at the other end. He finished with just four points.
Gonzaga extended the lead to 25 points by scoring the first five points of the second half. Baylor chipped away, closing to 59-46 on back-to-back layups by freshman Robert Wright.
The Zags responded with a 16-2 run to rebuild their lead to 75-48 with 8:10 remaining. Huff maneuvered inside for a field goal and Ike added three more baskets in the paint.
Nembhard and Hickman buried 3-pointers and Ike added a putback, forcing a Baylor timeout. The break didn’t bother Battle, who nailed three 3-pointers in 66 seconds to make it 84-50 and draw a standing ovation from the crowd as the Bears called another timeout.
Gonzaga, which has won 19 consecutive season openers, ended a three-game losing streak against top 10 opponents dating back to a 79-76 victory over No. 7 UCLA in the 2023 Sweet 16.
Hickman finished with a team-high 17 points. Ike added 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Huff contributed 14 points, Battle 12 and Stromer 11. Nembhard had 11 assists, one short of his GU career high.
Norchad Omier led Baylor with 15 points and nine boards.
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