That is actually a very good last point. The other losses were to teams that were in the top 5 at some point in the season, with both NC State and UCLA being as high as #2, SC being #1 and Texas being a strong top 5. ND winning the ACC makes that loss a little better but a victory would have been that much better in terms of seedings. I don't care what anyone says, being a #1 is huge compared to a #2 or #3. The difference is in the second and third games. You are playing #8, in the second game, perhaps a #29-#32 ranked team whereas as a #3, you play #6 and in the Sweet Sixteen you play #2 and then presumptively #1, making for a tough two game stretch with one day off. It's a much tougher road.