I mean, I did play the game. Got paid (actual money, not a lot) to. But that’s besides the point. Not a single person has said that any of the players are out there thinking "let's tank" - that's a ridiculous strawman that you have built yourself. So you can keep tilting at that windmill, but it's not going to change anyone's mind - "player mindset" or not.
Conference tournaments are dumb. Why should 4 games try to determine something that 30 games have already shown? That said, there is myriad evidence that shows "seeding" is, at best, an inexact science. And, by no means are the teams actually ranked 1-64 in this tournament - the committee admits that.
If, and that's a biiiig if (basically impossible based on precedent), the tournament goes all chalk and the actual seeding was done 1-64, then, maybe, your obsession with being the #3 seed as opposed to the #7 seed has some merit. Ultimately, though, you still have to beat the 1 seed (if they even make it to Omaha) sooner or later, so why would it matter if it's in pool play or in the final series?