I don't see what difference that would make, unless you're just saying that to have a more exciting potential game for the championship.
More national pub. Very few people will watch today with it being Turkey day but the biggest reason is playing NC state or NIU could be a very tough game to get up for if we lose today. Could be a letdown game while playing them today would have been plenty of motivation to get to final. 3rd place game worries me against an inferior opponent.