Preseason predictions once again have the Michigan women's basketball team in the middle of the conference heap. Of course, as a late-season tournament spark showed last year, the Wolverines are capable of rising above expectations.

This season, it will take passionate play to compete in a Big Ten that should be solid from top to bottom. The league is arguably stronger than it has ever been, and it's considered one of the toughest in the nation.

No team in the Big Ten can be taken for granted.

The Wolverines return only three players with considerable experience, including just one senior, guard Veronica Hicks. But according to Hicks, Michigan does not look at that as a disadvantage.

"Having new players, having a new look, having a new way of playing is really gonna show when we get out on the court,” Hicks said two weeks ago at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago.

The Wolverines are optimistic, but they will face stiff competition in the conference, especially from Ohio State, Iowa, and Michigan State, the teams picked by coaches and the media to finish as the top three, respectively.

Ohio State will remain a dominant competitor, returning all five starters from last year — including powerhouse senior center Jantel Lavender. Last season, Lavender averaged a double-double, with 21.4 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Those numbers ranked ninth and 25th, respectively, in the nation. Lavender, the three-time reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, earned the preseason honor for the third straight season. She was also a unanimous selection for the coaches’ and media’s preseason All-Big Ten team.

Lavender, along with junior guard Samantha Prahalis make a dominant duo. Prahalis, who also earned a spot on the preseason team, averaged eight assists per game last season, ranking second in the nation. Lavender and Prahalis were two of three Big Ten standouts selected to the Wade and Wooden award watch lists for the nation's best player this summer.

Last season, this Buckeye combination led the team to its sixth straight Big Ten Championship with a 31-5 record. Ohio State also claimed the 2009-2010 Big Ten Tournament title.

“We most definitely have a target on our back,” Lavendar said during Big Ten Media Day. “I mean, I would if somebody was in my conference and they kept winning. That’d be my focus for the whole season. But it’s fun being on top, it’s fun being the target, it’s fun being the ones that everyone wants to beat. It makes you that much tougher.”

Even Northwestern, a program that traditionally has not had much success, is expected to be tough competition. Coach Joe McKeown, who is going into his third season, has installed new systems and feverishly recruited top athletes for his team. McKeown could easily turn the Wildcats into the surprise team of the Big Ten this season, building around superstar senior center Amy Jaeschke.

“There are so many good teams in this conference,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “It used to be where maybe you look at the bottom of the conference and think, ‘Oh, there’s a 'W,' there’s a 'W.' But there are no 'W’s' on our schedule anymore.'”

Iowa is the only other team in the Big Ten, besides Ohio State, to return all five starters. That includes senior guard Kachine Alexander — who was selected to both the Wade and Wooden Award watch lists and earned a spot on the preseason All-Big Ten team — and last season’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Jaime Printy. The Hawkeyes were chosen to finish second by both the coaches and the media, after finishing last season tied for third in the conference and making a run to the Big Ten Tournament final.

Overall, the Big Ten should be a battle to the very end. The conference has 17 All-Big Ten performers returning to their respective teams from last season, including four first-team members and the Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Year. With dominant teams returning at full strength and the typical underdogs coming out swinging, it's impossible to predict who will come out on top.

“In the past, not all of these teams were able to contest," Lavender said. "Before you could say, ‘Well, Ohio State is going to win.’ But now everybody is in the dog fight to be the next Big Ten champion.”