 After attending Northeastern University, Barea would return to Puerto Rico to rejoin Indios de Mayagüez for the 2002 BSN season; there, he averaged 2.8 points in 14 games.As a freshman playing for the Northeastern Huskies in 2002–03, Barea earned third-team All-America East Conference (AEC) and AEC All-Rookie team honors, after averaging a conference-leading 17 points to go along with 3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.9 steals in 28 contests.He became the first freshman in Husky basketball history to record 400 points and 100 assists in a season and accrued a team-high 25 games of scoring in double-figures.