Ajax level with AZ after downing NAC

Soccer Betting Lines

12/12/2008 - Amsterdam, Netherlands (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ajax is level on 32 points with AZ Alkmaar at the top of the Eredivisie table after the Amsterdam club secured a 3-0 win over fourth-place NAC on Friday.

Dario Cvitanich opened the scoring in the 26th minute and Luis Suarez added a second goal from the penalty spot early in the second half after Kees Kwakman was sent off for conceding the spot-kick.

Rasmus Lindgren then capped the scoring nine minutes later for Ajax, which has lost just once in its last 10 league games.

NAC missed two good chances early in the match, but they were punished in the 26th minute when Suarez set up Cvitanich to put Ajax ahead.

The visitors had another chance to crack the scoreboard early in the second half but failed when Joonas Kolkka's header was cleared off the goal line by Gregory Van Der Wiel.

Once again, Ajax capitalized as Siem De Jong was brought down inside the box by Kwakman, who received his second yellow card for the foul. Suarez then converted the spot-kick to make it 2-0 before Lindgren capped the scoring in the 64th minute with a blast from 30 yards.

AZ will have a chance to regain sole possession of the top spot with a win at Feyenoord on Saturday, while Twente will try to keep pace at Groningen.

PSV Eindhoven travels to Vitesse, last-place Volendam visits middle-of-the- table Utrecht, Heracles entertains Sparta, Den Haag squares off with Roda, Graafschap invades Heerenveen and Willem II plays host to NEC.

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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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