Call it matinee madness.

All four entries from Virginia in the NCAA “Big Dance” will be opening with afternoon contests.

Longwood University qualified for its first Division I tournament by winning the Big South Conference title March 6 in Charlotte, N.C.

Norfolk State University punched its ticket to a second straight NCAA by capturing the MEAC crown last Saturday at the Norfolk Scope Arena.

Virginia Tech is in the Big Dance for a second straight year after claiming its first-ever ACC Tournament title last Saturday in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Of all the 68 schools entered in the tournament, the University of Richmond may be the most surprising. The Spiders squeezed into the field by winning the Atlantic 10 Conference title last Sunday in Washington, D.C.

Seeded sixth, UR defeated the University of Rhode Island, Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Dayton and top-seed Davidson College on consecutive days.

In the NCAA Tournament, winners from the opening games on Thursday will play Saturday, March 19, in the Round of 32. Friday’s winners will advance to Sunday, March 20.

Culminating the three-week event, The Final Four will be held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.