No. 6 Gonzaga defeats No. 8 Baylor in 2021 title game rematch

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Nolan Hickman scored 17 points, Graham Ike had 15 points and eight rebounds and No. 6 Gonzaga defeated No. 8 Baylor 101-63 on Friday night in the teams' season opener at Spokane Arena.

Braden Huff added 14 points for the Bulldogs, who picked up their 19th straight season-opening win. Gonzaga defeated an opponent it lost to in the 2021 National Championship game in Indianapolis and the 2022 Peacock Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Norchad Omier had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bears. Robert Wright added 12 points and Josh Ojianwuna had 10.

The Bulldogs went on a 24-4 second-half run to secure a top-10 win, while also handing the Bears their only 30-point loss in the last 10 years.

Takeaways

Baylor: The Bears missed their first five shots and were 36.2% from the field in the first half. Head coach Scott Drew's squad failed to turn things around and finished the game shooting 37.1%, including 14.3% from 3-pointers.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs shot 57.1% from the field and 41.9% on 3s, reaching the 100-point mark against a national opponent for the first time since their 100-90 win over Alabama on December 17, 2022 Ranking.

Key statistics

Gonzaga outrebounded Baylor 45-32. The Bulldogs were particularly aggressive on offense, grabbing 16 rebounds and scoring 17 second-chance points.

Key moment

Khalif Battle made three consecutive 3-pointers to put Gonzaga ahead by more than 30 points with just over six minutes to play. The graduate guard finished with 12 points, all from beyond the arc.

Next

Baylor faces No. 16 Arkansas in Dallas on Saturday and Gonzaga hosts Arizona State on Sunday.

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