That is weird. Ohio is a little strange in allowing the team to choose where they fall in the bracket. I know in Ohio HS district soccer playoffs you will often see a 1 vs 2 semi final because the 2 seed opts to play on that side of the bracket so that if they beat the 1 seed they will get home-field advantage for the district final. The logic there makes more sense to me than playing an extra game. I don't care how good you are... I want as few chances to lose as possible in the playoffs... Nobody is gonna care if you won that extra tournament game when it is all said and done...
If you take a bye, you usually have a week or sometimes even closer to two weeks off without a game, and some coaches would rather play, especially if they are sure the first round will be winnable. Realistically in high school basketball, there are teams that have absolutely no chance of even staying within 30 points of certain other teams, even if everything goes their way.