NCAA Tournament 2018: Biggest Takeaways from Day 3

The third day of the NCAA men's tournament was both exciting and predictable.

There were a couple of upsets, an overtime thriller, a buzzer-beater and two potential Cinderellas in Loyola-Chicago and Buffalo. But none of the teams seeded three or higher had much reason to worry, and all of them advanced easily to the second round.

If you picked a few major upsets at the top of your bracket, Thursday's results aren't going to do much for you.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the third day of tournament action.

Loyola-Chicago Is the Latest Cinderella Candidate

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

The Loyola-Chicago Ramblers have all the elements of a Cinderella squad: a mid-major program that hasn't been to the tournament since 1985 and secured a win over a big-name school with a dramatic finish.

Donte Ingram's last-second three-pointer gave No. 11 Loyola its first lead of the second half over No. 6 Miami. That Ingram is a Chicago native is an added bonus. Loyola even has a feel-good story in Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt, the 98-year-old nun who has been a campus icon for decades and is getting national attention in the wake of this unlikely tournament run.

Loyola next faces No. 3 Tennessee, which blew out No. 14 Wright State 73-47 on Thursday. The Ramblers barely squeaked out this win, and they'll have their work cut out for them Saturday if they want to keep this run going.

Safe Brackets Are in (mostly) Good Shape

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Viewers hoping for upsets at the top of the bracket were largely disappointed Thursday. Six teams with top-three seeds played in the third day of competition, and all of them took care of business.

No. 1 Villanova easily handled No. 16 Radford, 87-61, in a well-rounded effort that saw all five starters score in double figures. The other No. 1 seed that played Thursday, Kansas, took care of No. 16 Penn, walking away with a comfortable 76-60 win.

No. 2 Duke secured an 89-67 victory over No. 15 Iona behind Marvin Bagley III's 22-point, seven-rebound performance.

All three No. 3 seeds came away with wins as well, as Michigan, Tennessee and Texas Tech beat Montana, Wright State and Stephen F. Austin, respectively.

There may still be upsets to come, but there haven't been many of them thus far.

Arizona's Future Is a Huge Question Mark

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Other than Loyola-Chicago's win, the only significant upset in Thursday's slate of games was No. 4 Arizona's shocking 21-point loss to No. 13 Buffalo. It capped a tumultuous season for the Wildcats that included an FBI wiretap report that suggested head coach Sean Miller may have discussed payment to potential No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton.

For his part, Ayton led Arizona with 14 points and 13 rebounds, but some defensive lapses against Buffalo didn't help things, and the Wildcats will be watching the rest of the tournament from home.

The bigger picture here, however, is that this season—regardless of whether it ended in Round 1 or with a national championship—was always going to wrap up with questions. The team has six players set to return next year. It has no current commitments, and it clearly struggles when opponents take away its best option, Ayton—a player who is gone this summer to the NBA draft, per the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell.

Basically: What comes next?

That question won't be answered for some time, but it became an even more complicated talking point with a terrible loss to Buffalo.

Trae Young's NBA Future Now Begins with Questions

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

One of the most memorable individual seasons in recent college basketball history came to an end in dramatic fashion on Thursday. No. 10 seed Oklahoma nearly upset No. 7 seed Rhode Island, taking the Rams to overtime before ultimately falling 83-78.

As disappointing as their quick exit was, Trae Young put on a show, leading all scorers with 28 points as well as racking up seven assists. Young's late-game heroics kept the Sooners in the game, but they ultimately weren't enough.

Now, Young will likely declare for the NBA draft, and his merits as a pro prospect will be fiercely debated in the coming months. According to B/R's Jonathan Wasserman, NBA scouts and executives are already wondering if the hype surrounding the star guard was, well, all hype.

It will take years before his legacy is ultimately settled, but what Young gave college basketball fans this year won't be forgotten anytime soon.

The next Stephen Curry, though? We'll have to wait and see.