A hypothetical couple of elite teams play in a season, they each schedule another elite program OOC. One loses, and then two more in conference, one wins, and then two more in conference.
Maybe the first is left out and the second gets an 8 seed? At 16, as you say, the calculus recalculates.
There are only 7 slots in the playoff now aside from conference champs. That would change to 11.