No. 6 Gonzaga's offense overwhelmed No. 8 Baylor 101-63

Nolan Hickman led a balanced attack with 17 points as No. 6 Gonzaga beat No. 8 Baylor 101-63 on Monday night in the season opener for both teams in Spokane, Wash.

It was the Bulldogs' largest win against a top-10 team and surpassed their previous mark of 20 points.

Graham Ike added 15 points and eight rebounds for Gonzaga in the rematch of the 2021 NCAA title game, which the Bears won 86-70. Braden Huff scored 14 points, Khalif Battle added 12 points and Dusty Stromer scored 11 points for the Bulldogs. Ryan Nembhard provided a game-high 11 assists.

Miami native Norchad Omier led Baylor with 15 points and nine rebounds. Robert O. Wright III added 12 points and Josh Ojianwuna contributed 10 points.

Prized Baylor freshman VJ Edgecombe scored just four points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field. The five-star guard's second basket was a dunk over Gonzaga's Joe Few, the son of coach Mark Few, with 1:41 left.

The Bulldogs shot 40 of 70 from the field (57.1 percent), including 13 of 31 (41.9 percent) from 3-point range. The Bears shot just 23 of 62 (37.1 percent) and were 3 for 21 (14.3 percent) from distance.

After leading 49-30 at halftime, the Bulldogs scored the first six points of the second half to extend their lead to 25.

The Bears responded with a 16-4 run to get within 13, but that was all they could accomplish.

The first half was like a heavyweight title fight with both teams trading heavy blows.

After Omier opened the scoring with a free throw, Gonzaga went on an 8-0 run, capped by a layup by Ben Gregg off a pass from Ike. Gregg also had two free throws and Ike and Hickman made layups during the sprint.

The Bears responded with an 8-0 run of their own to regain a 9-8 lead. Omier started the streak with a layup and Jalen Celestine ended it with a three-pointer.

Stromer made a 3-pointer, starting Gonzaga's 10-0 run to take an 18-9 lead. Stromer made two treys during the streak and Huff added two layups after turnovers.

The Bulldogs led by as many as 21 points at halftime on a three-pointer by Hickman with 29 seconds left before Jeremy Roach made two late free throws for Baylor to make it 49-30 at the break. Roach led the Bears with seven points at halftime.

Hickman led Gonzaga with 11 points before halftime, and Gregg and Stromer each added nine points, the latter with three 3-pointers.

–Field level media