Buzzer breakdown: Three observations on 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 more than good

Gonzaga will face a number of quality opponents over the next two months, but Monday's season opener was a promising sign for anyone concerned about how the Bulldogs would fare defensively.

Nine days after USC's offense steamrolled Gonzaga in a 96-90 exhibition win, the Bulldogs faced a Baylor group that had no shortage of offensive firepower.

There weren't many execution errors on Gonzaga's part and the Bulldogs were active in contests, aggressive in the passing lane and robust in the low block, allowing Baylor to shoot 37% from the field and 14% from the 3-point line.

Freshman VJ Edgecombe, who is expected to be picked in the top five in most mock drafts, missed his first five shot attempts and made just two of 11 shots from the field for four points and three turnovers.

Senior transfer Norchad Omier, who scored 17 points per game at Miami last season, was Baylor's leading scorer with 15 points, but the former Miami forward was just 5 of 12 from the field.

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

Ike leads with an early rebound and a late goal

Graham Ike missed a few easy plays early in the first half, but still made an impact offensively for the Zags as they extended their double-digit lead. The goal came later for Gonzaga's senior forward.

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

The Colorado native discovered his shooting talent in the second half and finished with 15 points – including 11 after halftime – as well as 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 for Gonzaga's starting five ended about 15 minutes before the scheduled start time.

After using two different lineups in matchups against USC and NAIA Warner Pacific, Mark Few fielded another five-man unit in Monday's season opener.

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

With less than seven minutes left in the first half, Gonzaga's bench still outscored Baylor as a team 19-18. The immediate contributions of Dusty Stromer, who knocked down three consecutive 3-pointers, and Braden Huff, who had eight points in the first half, helped the Zags extend the lead to 34-18 after 5 minutes, 34 seconds.