by John Sexton, sports editor

Today, the entire nation will be consumed by madness.

March Madness, that is.

Yes, the NCAA basketball tournament has returned, and once again this year promises to be just as exciting as always.

So fellow students, figure out which of your teachers will have the tourney on during school hours and obtain your tutorial passes, because it’s going to be a wild ride.

The local favorite, with apologies to Cal, is St. Mary’s College, which earned its automatic bid by defeating Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament finals. It was the first time St. Mary’s had won both the WCC regular-season and tournament titles in the same year, and it put the nation on notice for great things from this team.

St. Mary’s hasn’t danced since 2010, when San Ramon Valley High product Omar Samhan led the No. 10 seeded Gaels to the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

St. Mary’s is projected as a No. 6 seed this year, and I expect them to make a nice run.

Make sure to tune in to watch star point guard Matthew Dellavadova and the rest of the “Fightin’ Aussies” win a few games.

The Gaels are just one of the many mid-major schools that should make interesting tournament runs.

The Murray State Racers, the Ohio Valley Conference winner, and Great West conference powerhouse Long Beach State 49ers are both Cinderella candidates.

Although Murray State will have a fairly high seed, few will expect them to be able to go toe-to-toe with the big schools. And they will be wrong.

Long Beach State, however, is possibly the best dark-horse team in the mix. Unlike Murray St., they HAVE gone toe-to-toe with the big schools, and done impressively well.

Look at their scores this year: 10-point wins over Pittsburgh and Xavier. Close losses to Kansas, North Carolina, and Creighton. A 21-point victory over Auburn.

It’s clear that the 49ers are a chic Sweet Sixteen pick this year.

But these schools are small fishes in a big pond. And there’s always a bigger fish.

This year, the biggest fish of all looks to be Syracuse. The Orange have the best all-around team in the nation, led by guard Scoop Jardine and center Fab Melo.

Syracuse nearly went undefeated in the tough Big East conference, and will be a tough test for any team, even expected top seeds North Carolina, Kansas, or Kentucky.

I believe Syracuse will win their second NCAA title this year, but as we’ve seen before, anything can happen in the Big Dance.

I’ve already been consumed by the Madness. Have you?