ISU definitely did not "earn" a higher seed than Texas, but they got one because of the following reasons:
1) They are the host in Des Moines, even though that is not their campus
2) The host schools are "dropped in" with the same, if not more, importance than the #1 overall seeds in each region
3) With 8 Big 12 schools, ideally, the committee would place 2 in each region; well, OU and A&M are in the OKC region; Baylor and Nebraska (I think) went Spokane, KSU and OSU to New Orleans; then, you have ISU and Texas, which have to be on opposite sides of that regional bracket b/c rules dictate 2 teams from same conference can't meet until the Regional finals
3) If ISU was a #8/9 seed, which #1 seed could be sent to the pod in Des Moines? Tennessee was sent to West Lafayette as a #1 seed, while host Purdue is the #9 seed. But, #1 UConn couldn't have been sent to Des Moines b/c the only way the Bridgeport site would draw fans is if UConn was sent there. #1 Maryland couldn't get sent there because they are hosting a sub-regional, as is #2 Stanford and #2 LSU. #2 A&M couldn't be sent there since they are in the Big 12. So, #1 UNC could have been sent to Des Moines with ISU the #8/9 seed.
Here is the post-selection news conference with Judy Southard:
The Link
1) They are the host in Des Moines, even though that is not their campus
2) The host schools are "dropped in" with the same, if not more, importance than the #1 overall seeds in each region
3) With 8 Big 12 schools, ideally, the committee would place 2 in each region; well, OU and A&M are in the OKC region; Baylor and Nebraska (I think) went Spokane, KSU and OSU to New Orleans; then, you have ISU and Texas, which have to be on opposite sides of that regional bracket b/c rules dictate 2 teams from same conference can't meet until the Regional finals
3) If ISU was a #8/9 seed, which #1 seed could be sent to the pod in Des Moines? Tennessee was sent to West Lafayette as a #1 seed, while host Purdue is the #9 seed. But, #1 UConn couldn't have been sent to Des Moines b/c the only way the Bridgeport site would draw fans is if UConn was sent there. #1 Maryland couldn't get sent there because they are hosting a sub-regional, as is #2 Stanford and #2 LSU. #2 A&M couldn't be sent there since they are in the Big 12. So, #1 UNC could have been sent to Des Moines with ISU the #8/9 seed.
Here is the post-selection news conference with Judy Southard:
The Link
