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

It was the Bulldogs’ largest margin of victory against a Top 10 team, surpassing their previous score 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, Khalif Battle added 12 and Dusty Stromer had 11 for the Bulldogs. Ryan Nembhard dished out a game-high 11 assists.

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

Rated Baylor freshman VJ Edgecombe had 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 remaining.

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

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

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

The first half resembled a heavyweight title fight, with each team throwing big punches.

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

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 the streak with a three-pointer.

Stromer made a 3-pointer to start a 10-0 run by Gonzaga, who took the lead 18-9. Stromer made two treys during the streak and Huff added a pair of layups after turnovers.

The Bulldogs led by as many as 21 at the half on a 3-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 in the half.

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

–Field-level media