How will Gonzaga respond to Baylor win? ‘Guys are going to be hyped to be back in The Kennel’

Bulldogs look to build off their big win over No. 8 Baylor

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

Mark Few couldn’t have asked his Gonzaga players for a better start to the season. 

The Bulldogs’ historic triumph over No. 8 Baylor at the Spokane Arena was quite the way to tip off the 2024-25 campaign, as it marked the largest margin of victory for any team over a top-10 opponent in a season-opener. As Bears head coach Scott Drew simply put it after the game, his opponent looked like a team that brought back most of its roster from the year prior, while he only brought back one starter. The Zags went 40-of-71 (56.3%) from the field and knocked down 13 3-pointers, while also holding Baylor to 23-of-62 (37.1%) from the field and 3-of-21 (14.3%) from 3-point range.

The 101-63 score was a surprising wake-up call to those who didn’t stay up late for the premiere matchup of opening day. Redshirt sophomore Braden Huff was quick to pump the brakes on the 38-point victory being some kind of message to the rest of the country. How he and his teammates respond in act two against Arizona State (Sunday 2 p.m. PST, ESPN) will test their level of poise coming off such a monumental victory.

“It was an emotional win,” former Gonzaga All-American Adam Morrison said on an episode of The Perimeter podcast. “But we get time in between and then also, guys are gonna be hyped to be back in The Kennel …  so I think that helps to counter that possibility [of a letdown].”

Rather than let the highs of game one get to them, Few and company will look to build off their first win when they host another Big 12 opponent in the Sun Devils (1-0). ASU is still building continuity among its newcomers, as Bobby Hurley’s squad sputtered to a 55-48 win over Idaho State in the season opener, just over a week after getting trounced by Duke, 103-47, in an exhibition game. Hurley noted that the message he tried getting to his team from that defeat clearly hasn’t worked, though it’s also worth pointing out that he’s working with an entirely new roster compared to last season. 

“I feel good about this game, not just because we do the breaks off of Baylor,” Morrison said. “I’d say that even if it was a closer game, but I just think we're more talented.”

That being said, the Sun Devils boast athleticism across the board. Hurley reeled in a star-studded freshmen class headlined by five-star recruit Jayden Quaintance, a 6-foot-9 big man and top 25 player in the class of 2024 who de-committed from Kentucky to play in the desert instead. The 17-year-old won’t be eligible for the NBA this spring, though his name already appears in the top 10 on some notable 2026 mock drafts. 

“When you play a big conference team — and this is not just me saying it to say it — they have big conference athletes, so they always have a chance,” Morrison said. “Obviously we're more skilled. It's not like we don't have athletes. But my point is even a bottom half of the Big 12 [team] is going to have Big 12 athletes, so we obviously need to be prepared to play well.”

MORE GONZAGA NEWS & ANALYSIS

• WCC power rankings: Gonzaga firmly at No. 1 after blowout win over Baylor

• Gonzaga’s national championship odds boosted following Baylor win

• Top plays from Gonzaga's win over Baylor

• Gonzaga point guard Ryan Nembhard makes spectacular no-look pass

• What Gonzaga’s Mark Few said after win vs. Baylor

• NCAA Tournament bracketology: Gonzaga up to No. 1 seed in West Region

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