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CHICAGO (AP) -Tony Stockman rescued Ohio State, scoring 19 of his 25 points in the second half as the Buckeyes rallied and beat Penn State 72-69 Thursday in the Big Ten tournament.

Ohio State, coming off a one-point upset of top-ranked Illinois last Sunday that ended the Illini's unbeaten run at 29 games, will meet Wisconsin in the quarterfinals.

The Buckeyes (20-11) came out flat after their big victory four days ago and needed a 27-7 second-half run behind the shooting of Stockman and J.J. Sullinger to rally from a 15-point deficit.

Thursday's comeback victory came in the first game since it was revealed head coach Thad Matta had signed an eight-year contract.

Stockman's 3-pointer with 4:46 left gave the Buckeyes a 57-54 advantage - their first lead since 90 seconds into the game - and when he hit another jumper at 4:17 the Buckeyes were suddenly up five.

Travis Parker, who led the scrappy Nittany Lions with 21 points, then made five of six free throws to tie it at 59 with 2:58 left.

But again Stockman hit a big "3" from the top of the key to put the Buckeyes back up to stay with 2:31 left. In the final minute, Ivan Harris hit a 3-pointer and Je'Kel Foster dropped in four free throws.

Ohio State finished 11-of-31 on 3-pointers.

Geary Claxton added 20 points and had 13 rebounds for the Nittany Lions (7-23), who didn't play like a team that was just 1-15 this season in the Big Ten.

The Nittany Lions ran out to a 16-5 lead and kept it going the entire first half, shooting 63 percent and holding the Buckeyes to 33 percent.

Penn State used separate runs of 9-0 and 10-0 to build a 32-17 lead against the shocked Buckeyes, who couldn't contain the aggressive Claxton.

Claxton had 11 first-half points, mostly with tough play.

Penn State was up 47-32 with 14:36 left after Parker and Danny Morrissey hit 3-pointers.

Sullinger, who had all 11 of his points in the second half, made two 3-pointers and a dunk after a steal, starting the Buckeyes' run and slicing the lead to 52-49 with 7:10 left.

Following a timeout, Penn State turned the ball over and Sullinger connected again on a 3-pointer for a 52-52 tie with 6:29 left.

Penn State fell to 33 percent shooting in the second half after its torrid opening 20 minutes and had 19 turnovers for the game. Ohio State made 47 percent in the second half.