Mizzou Hoops Player Review: T.O. Barrett

If T.O. Barrett had entered the transfer portal after his freshman season, I doubt there would be many who would have blinked. After all he only saw action in 19 games, rarely played more than a handful of minutes when he did play, and was sitting behind Anthony Robinson II on the depth chart. That’s usually when you see a guy bounce.

But Barrett stuck it out, believing he could see a larger role as a sophomore, and he did see a larger role.

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The first 19 games of the year Barrett came off the bench, but averaged 18.4 minutes per game, but only chipped in 5.9 points a contest. But with Robinson struggling, Dennis Gates turned to Barrett in an attempt to ressurect their fledgling NCAA Touranment hopes, and Barrett delivered. Over the final 12 games, Barrett started all 12 while averaging 28.9 minutes, and 12.4 points per game. Mizzou went 7-7 over that span, but they picked up 4 quad 1 wins over that span, which was enough to secure them a tournament berth.

Much of T.O.’s game was known before his breakout. He’s not a shooter, but at 6’4 and 200 pounds, he’s a powerful driver. He’s adept at getting his body into the defender and creating enough angles and space to get his shot off.

But with his increased role his efficiency suffered. On the season he shot 52.2% from inside the arc, but over the last 14 games that percentage was just 46.6%. And he knocked down just 7 three pointers, with 6 of them coming in just three games. So for 14 games, Mizzou had a non-shooting threat who was struggling to finish around the rim at times.

Not always though. When T.O. was on he could be electric. I doube few will forget his epic 28 point night against Tennessee, leading the Tigers to a must have win in their quest for the NCAA Tournament. Barrett overpowered the smaller UT guards, and he pounded them for 12 makes on 17 attempts, all inside the 3 point arc. And just two of those were even outside the paint. But that was the TO experience, when things were going as they…

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Publish date : 2026-06-13 10:00:00

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