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

Bulldogs snagged their largest victory over an AP top 10 team in 38-point win over No. 8 Bears

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

The Gonzaga men’s basketball team left little to doubt after thrashing No. 8 Baylor, 101-63, on the opening night of the college basketball season from the Spokane Arena.

Led by Nolan Hickman’s 17 points, the Bulldogs (1-0) rained 13 3-pointers down on the Bears (0-1) and shot 57.1% from the field. Four other players scored in double figures, including 6-foot-6 wing Dusty Stromer (11 points) and 6-foot-10 post Braden Huff (14 points). The pair of second-year players provided Gonzaga with a spark off the bench, as they combined to score 17 points in a row during a stretch midway through the first half.

Baylor was led by fifth-year senior Norchad Omier’s 15 points and nine rebounds. Freshman wing Robert Wright III had 12 points, though the Bears shot just 37.1% from the field and 3-of-21 from deep.

Here’s what Gonzaga head coach Mark Few had to say after the team’s 19th consecutive season-opening win.

On the importance of the season-opener against the Bears:

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

“It’s two teams with two willing coaches. We had various places all across the world, we were trying to get this thing done and then fortunately for us, the Spokane Arena was able to accommodate us and it was an awesome spectacle in there with the crowd. And I’m sure it was a great show for everybody watching on TV. I wish we could have got an earlier TV time … but again, we're trying to send a message that these games are important, and we got to get college basketball kind of out in the forefront instead of waiting until March.”

On Gonzaga’s execution:

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

“We put 100 up today on a great team and kind of a scary team. I mean, they're really, really, really athletic and can do a lot of different things on the defensive end, mix it up. And I thought it was a game where they were switching every screen, which sometimes takes a little rhythm out of you. Our guys made the right read, made the right play and came down to get good ones and got great ones. You're getting really, really good one more, two more swings to an open 3, especially in those corners. And these guys, especially I think Nolan and Dusty really kind of opened up the rim for us there midway through the first half.”

On slowing down Baylor’s Norchad Omier and V.J. Edgecombe:

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

“I mean look they’re a tough, tough matchup with [Omier] inside and just the way he rebounds the ball, they’re very concerned about that. I thought they did a far better job than we did obviously against USC of leveling guys off and helping each other. We were in gaps, we made some nice plays off the ball. So they did an awesome job of taking the message after that exhibition and executing it, because you can't guard those guys one-on-one, we really had to be in our gap defense.”

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