here's why Louisville is the #1 seed

The NCAA wants to reward those who take the conference tournaments seriously.

In past years, there has been a sense that a top seed candidate could fizzle out in its conference tournament with little or no consequence. This year, North Carolina purposely rested Ty Lawson, given that it had a #1 seed wrapped up. After they lost their second game in the ACC tournament, the NCAA selection committee could have chosen UNC as the overall #1 seed. But that would have rewarded them for taking their conference tournament lightly.