"The best team doesn't always end up with the national title. But the best team always emerges as the champion of its conference."
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8993237/do-regular-season-championships-matter-college-basketball (http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8993237/do-regular-season-championships-matter-college-basketball)
There's no mention of it in this article, but I've always felt that it has been the conference tournaments that undermine the value of the regular season winner, more than the NCAA tournament (though clearly coaches feel the pressure to win in March Madness).
That said, we are positioned for winning the conference, and I'd love to see it happen. Go MU!!
Note the various MU mentions in the article, too; most notably, Buzz in 4th place for national COY, just behind JTIII.