agree 100%. in prep basketball, back in the day ,they used to never seed - maybe they do a little bit now like they do in football, I really dont knowRankings mean squat, they are nice, but that's about it. When I was coaching, we were ranked #1 in state several years, but never took home the title. The only ranking that matters is the one after the last game!
in only matters a little in the NCAA tourney in that you simply want your road to be as smooth as possible. If you can avoid playing a #1 seed in the first 4 rounds, maybe they have a bad night & get knocked off before you need to face them.
But the bottom line really is , to be the best , you need to beat the best. As fans we are simply wanting/expecting to get to the Elite 8 or Final 4. At that point, just about anything can happen. See 1989 and 2005. Get to the Final 4 enough times and sooner or later you should win it.