Barnsley and Burton Albion entered the half-time break with neither side able to open the scoring, but the visitors have had the best opportunities at Oakwell.
Burton came close to opening the scoring on 16 minutes when Mark Duffy set up a chance for Stuart Beavon, whose shot went straight to Barnsley keeper Adam Davies.
Davies was forced into action again to keep out a Duffy header from a corner, before Abdenasser El Khayati came close to producing the opener for the Brewers soon after, as his low shot forced another save.
Duffy was provided an opportunity to score before the break after Beavon nodded the ball down to the striker, but his shot was fired over the bar.
