Leadoff: Atlanta ranked No. 192 for college hoops

The top five cities on the list: No. 1 Lawrence, Kansas; No. 2 Durham, N.C.; No. 3 Los Angeles; No. 4 East Lansing, Mich.; and No. 5 Chapel Hill, N.C.

Atlanta’s low ranking presumably isn’t a big revelation to those who follow the local college basketball scene.

Georgia State – again the bellwether of Atlanta-area hoops, as Mark Bradley wrote – hopes to clinch an NCAA tournament berth by winning the Sun Belt Conference tourney this weekend. But Georgia Tech's season ended Tuesday with an opening-round loss in the ACC tournament, as did Georgia's with an opening-round loss in the SEC tournament Wednesday.

* * * 

TODAY’S LEADOFF LINKS 

> Check out Gabe Burns' predictions for the Braves' 25-man opening-day roster here.

> Atlanta United was knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions League tournament by Monterrey on Wednesday night, winning the game 1-0 but losing the series by an aggregate 3-1, Doug Roberson reports. Announced attendance (tickets distributed) was 40,048. Atlanta United's previous smallest announced attendance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was 41,012 vs. Chicago in the U.S. Open Cup last June, although records show the actual attendance for that game was 32,347.

> Lots of movement around the Falcons, as D. Orlando Ledbetter reports: Right tackle Ryan Schraeder was released; the signings of veteran offensive guards Jamon Brown and James Carpenter to multi-year contracts were announced; and running back Tevin Coleman  signed with the 49ers for $10 million over two years.