When junior point guard DeAndre Mathieu was on the court for the first 8-plus minutes the Gophers looked like a well-oiled machine that would cruise to a victory over Illinois.

When he picked up his second foul and was forced to sit for the rest of the half, the Gophers looked lost without their conductor.

After building an early 14-3 lead, the Gophers were outscored 21-13 down the stretch and are currently clinging to a 27-24 lead at the break.

Illinois shot 2 for 16 from inside the arc (really bad), but went 6 for 9 from deep (really good) to stay close.

Meanwhile, the Gophers were chucking threes like they were on sale for 50 percent off in the first half.

Minnesota tossed up 15 triple tries, and hit a whopping three of them.

The Hollins boys are leading the Gophers in the scoring department. Andre Hollins has eight, while Austin Hollins has six.