Fire, Rapids aim to build on important results

Soccer Betting Lines

06/08/2010 - Bridgeview, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Rapids travel to take on the Chicago Fire on Wednesday in a Major League Soccer clash between two clubs coming off of important victories.

The Fire topped the Philadelphia Union in their last fixture on Saturday, a hard-fought 2-1 fixture at Toyota Park.

"It was a very important win for us," Fire forward Brian McBride said. "We talked about it in the locker room about how important it was to get a win. For us a win is crucial, no matter where it comes, but it's nice to win at home. We definitely want to win games here for our fans, our staff and everyone who is involved with the Fire."

The win snapped a four-game winless streak by the Fire (3-3-4), who picked up three draws during the stretch.

"For us it was very important to win because we're playing for points," Fire coach Carlos de los Cobos said. "We didn't have many chances [vs. Philadelphia] but we were very efficient in finishing. I wish we were always were in this situation.

"We speak to the players before the game and tell them it's necessary to take away three points from these two matches at home including the game next Wednesday."

The Rapids (6-3-1) are coming off a a 1-0 result at home against the Eastern table leading Columbus Crew thanks to a Drew Moor header off a free kick five minutes from time on Saturday.

"It was a fantastic header from Drew and it just capped off a wonderful performance from the lad," Colorado coach Gary Smith said after the game.

"It was a great ball from Jamie Smith, he puts balls into dangerous areas and on a set piece like that we don't have a set up play or anything you just have to get bodies into dangerous spots," Moor said. "Fortunately I was able to get around my defender and kind of get up over him and snap it down in. I think it skipped off the grass a little and picked up some momentum. I was just happy to help the team get three points; it was a team effort from everybody."

One negative from the game was veteran midfielder Pablo Masteroni was issued a red card after a confrontation with Crew forward Steven Lenhart.

"From my angle there was a challenge, a little bit of a connection between the bodies,' Smith said of the incident. "I thought he struck it at his [Pablo] face but I wasn't sure. And so he [Pablo] pushed him in his knee caps at that point. I wasn't quite sure what happened it was a tangle of bodies."

Masteroni, who was also fined $250 for failing to leave the field in a timely manner, will miss Wednesday's fixture because of the ejection.

The game will be the last for both teams for about two weeks because of the FIFA World Cup, which starts on Friday.

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In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

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