T.O. Barrett flexes after career night vs. Tennessee: ‘I didn’t feel like they could guard me’
By David Wasson
Published:
Missouri guard T.O. Barrett discovered a place few basketball players ever get an opportunity to visit on Tuesday night against No. 22 Tennessee: The zone.
Barrett lit up the Volunteers for a career-high 28 points, including 16 in the second half, during a 73-69 victory that will help solidify Mizzou’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament. As it currently stands, the Tigers have a 68% chance to do exactly that per Kalshi.
After the victory, Barrett was asked about his 12-of-17 shooting night against a Volunteers team that unsuccessfully tried various options to guard him as the game wore on.
“I didn’t feel like they could guard me, so I kept going at them,” Barrett said.
Tennessee (20-8 overall, 10-4 SEC) tried switching defenders on the 6-foot-4 Barrett, matching him up against 6-4 guard Bishop Boswell and 6-10 forward Nate Ament – with neither finding much traction as Barrett continued to attack the rim nearly every time down the floor.
Missouri (19-9, 9-6) also got a strong outing from forward Mark Mitchell, who added 23 points in the victory. Guard Trent Burns also chipped in seven rebounds and four steals off the bench for the Tigers.
The Volunteers got a much more balanced scoring attack, as guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie scored 19 points, Ament added 17 points, center Felix Okpara had 15 points and Boswell delivered 13 points. Tennessee’s bench, however, only contributed five points in the loss.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
