UNCASVILLE—A veteran Texas Tech squad didn’t want to wait until the Big 12 season to try and earn respect.The Red Raiders started that campaign Sunday with Keenan Evans scoring 25 points to lead his team over No. 20 Northwestern 85-49 in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.Evans scored 54 points in the two wins for the Red Raiders (4-0), who were picked seventh in the preseason Big 12 poll. Zach Smith added 11 points, while Tommy Hamilton IV and Niem Stevenson each had 10.

”We want to be that team that comes out and throws that first punch every game,” Evans said. ”Knowing they are a ranked team, we want to be ranked, too.”

The Red Raiders never let up, shooting 60.4 percent and handing coach Chris Collins his worst loss in five years at Northwestern, surpassing an 89-57 road defeat to then-No. 25 Indiana on Jan. 23, 2016.

”We came out with low energy, low talk and quite frankly played terrible defense,” said guard Scottie Lindsay, who led the Wildcats (3-2) with 20 points.