As there are a bunch of things you won't hear, there's also some stuff you're guaranteed to hear today at Big Ten basketball media days in Chicago.

So in honor of the 11 teams in the Big Ten, here are 11 things you should hear in a few hours.

1.How deep the Big Ten is: There’s no doubt the Big Ten is one of the deepest leagues - if not the deepest league - in the country. There are a bunch of teams that can make the NCAA tournament and as many as six might be in the preseason AP Top 25. The Big Ten is legit this year.

2. Due to the depth, the Big Ten can win the Big Ten/ACC challenge: If there’s one thing that rankles Midwestern basketball fans, it is the ACC’s perfect record when it comes to the yearly meeting with the ACC. There’s no reason to believe that this won’t be the Big Ten’s year. In fact, if the league loses this year, it might never win the Challenge. North Carolina, Duke, Clemson and Georgia Tech should be tough, but Michigan gets Boston College in Ann Arbor, a matchup Michigan should win.

3. The Big Ten’s Top 3 will contain some combination of Michigan State, Purdue and one other team: Despite the Big Ten’s depth, Michigan State and Purdue are clearly the class of the conference. The Spartans return the Big Ten Player of the Year in Kalin Lucas and the Boilermakers bring back Robbie Hummel and friends. The third spot will be either Michigan, Ohio State or Illinois. For the record, in the media poll, I picked Michigan third.

4. Kalin Lucas will be on the All-Big Ten team: AnnArbor.com’s pick as the Player of the Year in the Big Ten, Lucas will certainly warrant a spot on the team and is the likely Player of the Year in the league. If he isn’t, it could go to teammate Raymar Morgan, Michigan’s Manny Harris or Ohio State’s Evan Turner. The fifth member of AnnArbor.com’s All Big Ten team was Hummel.

5. Indiana will beat someone big: Tom Crean is too good of a coach to be at the bottom of the league for two straight years. Due to the league’s depth it’s unlikely the Hoosiers will jump too far, but don’t be surprised if they pick off some of the teams in the middle of the pack.

6. After Michigan State and Purdue, it is muddy waters: Just because the league is deep doesn’t mean there is a pecking order. After the Spartans and Boilers, there are seven teams that could finish anywhere from third to ninth. Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Penn State will all be in NCAA tournament contention and head-to-head could be huge come March.

7. Only one coach might be worried about job status: That would be Todd Lickliter at Iowa. He doesn’t have much to work with in Iowa City and a tough state to recruit, but this will likely be the second straight year the Hawkeyes are at the bottom of the league.

8. This might be the best collection of coaches in the country: The Big East boasts Rick Pitino, the Jims (Boeheim and Calhoun), Jay Wright and Jamie Dixon. But the Big Ten can hold its own. Tom Izzo has been to five Final Fours this decade. John Beilein is arguably the best coach in the country when matching talent to performance. Tubby Smith won a national championship. Bruce Weber coached in a Final Four, as did Thad Matta. Matt Painter is one of the country’s up-and-coming coaches.

9. Recruiting rules will come up: The NCAA Board of Directors will vote on new recruiting regulations Thursday in an attempt to clean up the game. Guarantee this comes up with John Beilein, the head of the ethics committee, along with a few other coaches.

10. Can Penn State keep moving up: The Nittany Lions have the second-least tradition of any Big Ten program - sorry Northwestern - but won the NIT last season. It served notice that things might be changing in State College, but Ed DeChellis will need to follow it up with an appearance in the tournament that matters, the NCAAs.

11. Will Northwestern get an NCAA bid? The ‘Cats were close last year and it probably saved the job of coach Bill Carmody. Having almost made the NCAAs for the first time in school history, there is now the thought that this could be the year. Will it? That might be one of the questions of the Big Ten season.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.