 The tournament came to the state of Iowa for the first time since 1972, and the first time ever in the city of Des Moines, when it came to the Wells Fargo Arena, home to the Iowa Wolves of the NBA G League and the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League.Of the 14 venues used in the tournament, only the NRG Stadium and the Chesapeake Energy Arena do not have future tournament games planned as of 2018.America East Conference champion Stony Brook and WAC champion Cal State Bakersfield made their first NCAA Tournament appearances in school history.