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

Gonzaga’s defense looked more than good

Gonzaga will have to replicate against a series 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 on the defensive end of the court.

Nine days after USC’s offense eviscerated Gonzaga in a 96-90 exhibition victory, the Bulldogs fortified themselves against a Baylor group that was not lacking in offensive firepower.

There weren’t many execution errors on Gonzaga’s part and the Bulldogs were active during games, aggressive in the passing lane and solid on the low block, helping Baylor shoot 37% from the field and 14% from the three-point line.

Freshman VJ 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 at Miami last season, 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 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 scores late

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

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

The Colorado native discovered his shooting ability in the second half, finishing with 15 points (11 of which came 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 tip time.

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

Michael Ajayi was the odd man out in a starting group that included the likes of Ryan Nembhard, Nolan Hickman, Khalif Battle, Ben Gregg and Graham Ike, but it wasn’t long before the Pepperdine transfer and Gonzaga’s large rotation of players on the bench made an impression.

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