Wizards want more magic against Rapids

Soccer Betting Lines

07/16/2010 - Commerce City, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Wizards forward Teal Bunbury called Wednesday's 1-0 victory at the Columbus Crew "huge," and hopes the team can build on the result Saturday night at the Colorado Rapids.

K.C. (4-8-3) won for the first time on the road this season Wednesday, and the result came against the Eastern Conference leaders. Although the Wizards still sit well off the pace in the standings, another victory could start a surge up the table in the second half of the season.

Bunbury scored his first goal of the season in the victory at Crew Stadium and goalie Jimmy Nielsen posted his sixth shutout of the season.

"I think it's a credit to everybody on the field, with all the work we've put in and getting the victory here is huge," Bunbury said.

"It means a lot. I kept hearing how hostile and tough it was to come here and get a win, especially with this drought we've been having."

"It was a great one-nil win away from home, and it's so important for us, and hopefully we can build on this victory and give ourselves some confidence," Nielsen said.

K.C. lost five of its first six road games, and tied the other, and faces yet another tough road test at Dick's Sporting Goods Park against the Rapids.

Colorado (6-4-4) had its six-match unbeaten streak snapped against Toronto FC last weekend, 1-0. However, the last three of those matches were draws, which means the Rapids are now winless in four straight.

Colorado lost 1-0 to the Wizards at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on April 10, but has played well overall and is tied for third in the Western Conference.

Rapids coach Gary Smith knows K.C. has struggled and, despite the Wizards' win at Columbus, feels his team has a chance to end the first half of its schedule with a victory.

"Kansas City have been down on their luck a bit and it's an opportunity for us to get back in that winning vein," Smith said.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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