Buzzer breakdown: Three observations from Gonzaga’s 101-63 win over Baylor

Here are three observations from No. 6 Gonzaga’s 101-63 win over No. 8 Baylor on Monday night at Spokane Arena.

Gonzaga’s defense looked better than good

Gonzaga will need to replicate against a string of quality opponents over the next two months, but Monday’s season opener was a promising sign for anyone with concerns about how the Bulldogs would fare on the defensive end of the floor.

Nine days after USC’s offensive eviscerated Gonzaga in a 96-90 exhibition victory, the Bulldogs tightened up against a Baylor group that wasn’t lacking in lacking offensive firepower.

There weren’t many executional errors on Gonzaga’s part and the Bulldogs were active on contests, aggressive in the passing lane and sturdy on the low block, holding Baylor to 37% shooting from the field and 14% from the 3-point line.

Freshman V.J. Edgecombe, a projected top-five pick in most mock drafts, missed his first five shot attempts and finished just 2 of 11 from the field with four points and three turnovers.

Senior transfer Norchad Omier, a 17 point-per-game scorer last season at Miami, was Baylor’s leading scorer with 15 points, but the former Miami forward was limited to 5 of 12 from the field.

Guard Jeremy Roach, a starter at Duke last season, didn’t help with Baylor’s efficiency, scoring nine points on 2 of 9 shooting and 1 of 4 from the 3-point line.

Ike leads with rebounding early, scoring late

Graham Ike missed on a few easy looks early in the first half, but still made an impact offensively for the Zags as they built their double-digit lead. The scoring came later for Gonzaga’s senior forward.

Ike elevated for three offensive rebounds in the first half, helping Gonzaga turn a few of those into second-chance points, and the big man also acted as a point forward of sorts, dishing out three assists through the first 20 minutes.

The Colorado native discovered his shooting touch in the second half, finishing with 15 points – 11 of those coming after halftime – to go with eight rebounds and three assists for Gonzaga.

Ike was 6 of 12 from the field and 3 of 6 from the free throw line.

Surprise five?

The anticipation surrounding Gonzaga’s starting five ended about 15 minutes before the scheduled tipoff time.

After using two different lineups in exhibitions against USC and NAIA Warner Pacific, Mark Few trotted out another five-man unit in Monday’s season opener.

Michael Ajayi was the odd man out of a starting unit that included Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Ben Gregg and Graham Ike, but it didn’t take the Pepperdine transfer and Gonzaga’s deep rotation of bench players long to make an impact.

With less than seven minutes remaining in the first half, Gonzaga’s bench was still outscoring Baylor as a team, 19-18. Immediate contributions from Dusty Stromer, who knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers, and Braden Huff, who had eight first-half points, helped the Zags stretch the lead out to 34-18 at the 5-minute, 34-second mark.