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Bracketology 2020: Utah State, Rutgers and Wisconsin among biggest winners

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: The Utah State Aggies celebrate after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs to win the championship game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 7, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Aggies defeated the Aztecs 59-56. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: The Utah State Aggies celebrate after defeating the San Diego State Aztecs to win the championship game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 7, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Aggies defeated the Aztecs 59-56. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
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Bracketology
JACKSONVILLE, FL – MARCH 21: The Belmont Bruins huddle (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Conference tournaments have started and there have already been major Bracketology implications. Which teams came out on the right side?

March Madness is finally here! And I’m not talking about just the NCAA Tournaments either, but also the conference tournaments that’ll play a major part in which teams will be hearing their names on Selection Sunday. As much as each day has its own Bracketology impact, the 10-day span here in early March is where the bulk of the action is.

A number of the smaller leagues have already started their conference tournaments, including the Missouri Valley, Horizon League, Atlantic Sun and others. But two have already completed, with Utah State beating San Diego State in the finals of the Mountain West Tournament, while Belmont beat Murray State for the Ohio Valley championship. Both games came down to the final seconds, giving is a glimpse of what’s to come in the rest of March.

There are 30 more automatic bids coming in the next seven days, starting with the Big South and Missouri Valley title games on Sunday. It’s also the last day of regular-season matchups, with teams still angling for better seeds in their respective league tournaments. Luck plays a big part in smaller teams making a run, while teams currently on the bubble are just looking to avoid a bad loss in the final days before next Sunday.

In the final week of the 2019-20 NCAA Basketball regular-season, there were a number of programs that got major victories to either solidify their spots in the Big Dance or help move up a seed or two. There also were some losses from teams that others greatly benefitted.

Here’s a look at the 10 biggest winning scenarios from this past week.