[media-credit name=’JEFF ROBERSON/AP’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]CHICAGO, Ill — Thanks to the largest comeback in Big Ten tournament history, Ohio State will take on Wisconsin in Friday’s second round game. After erasing a 15-point second-half deficit Thursday, the No. 6-seeded Buckeyes escaped with a 72-69 win over the No. 11-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions in an opening round thriller.

“Penn State played today,” Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. “They came out and they knocked us on our heels. I think that had a lot to do with us. We were almost, at the beginning, ‘I can’t believe this is happening to us.'”

Senior Tony Stockman scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, as the Buckeyes survived a pair of 20-point performances from Penn State’s Geary Claxton (20 points, 13 rebounds) and Travis Parker (21 points).

“If this is going to be my last game I want to enjoy it, have some fun, just be aggressive and have no regrets about it,” Stockman said. “I just came out aggressive and knocked some shots down.”

The turning point came at the 13:47 mark. With the Buckeyes trailing 47-32, forward Matt Sylvester, the hero of Sunday’s shocker against No. 1 Illinois, converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play to spark a 20-5 Buckeye run.

Sylvester’s momentum-changing bucket ignited an Ohio State barrage from beyond the arc. After shooting 3-for-13 from 3-point range in the first half, the Buckeyes suddenly found their rhythm, connecting on four 3-pointers over the next six minutes to cut the lead to five.

“I think we were getting the same shots, just in the second half we started knocking them down,” Stockman said.

Forward J.J. Sullinger, who knocked down two of the four deep balls, came up with a steal at midcourt and finished with a dunk in transition to cut the lead to three with 7:21 remaining. Less than a minute later, Sullinger connected on another trey to tie the game at 52.

The shell-shocked Lions reclaimed the advantage on a pair of free throws from forward Geary Claxton, but forward Matt Marinchick answered with a tip-in to even the score at 54.

Penn State turned the ball over on its next possession, allowing Ohio State to take its first lead of the game with 4:41 to play after a three from guard Tony Stockman. The lead would not change hands again.

The Nittany Lions pulled even, 59-59, on a pair of free throws from Travis Parker at the 2:54 mark, but Stockman answered with another 3-pointer.

Penn State came within two with 1:22 remaining, but Ivan Harris knocked down a jumper from the top of the key to push the lead to four, 67-63. Five free throws later, Ohio State had advanced to the second round.

The Nittany Lions charged out of the gates to claim a double-digit lead early at 16-5. Ohio State cut the lead to five by the 8:06 mark, but forward Geary Claxton ignited an 8-0 run that put the Lions ahead 32-17.

Stockman applied the tourniquet for Ohio State with a layup and a turnaround jumper to cut the lead to 12. After a midrange jumper from Penn State’s Ben Luber pushed the lead back to 14, Ohio State guard Brandon Fuss-Cheatham converted on an old-fashioned 3-point play to send the Buckeyes into the locker room trailing 35-24.

Ohio State’s shooting woes continued in the second half, but the Buckeyes were able to slice the lead to nine on a 3-point play from Stockman. Penn State quickly reclaimed a double-digit lead, 47-32, with back-to-back triples from Parker and guard Danny Morrissey, setting up the Buckeyes’ historic comeback.

Now the Buckeyes set their sights on Wisconsin, who won both meetings between the two teams in the regular season. First-year coach Thad Matta remains baffled by the Badgers.

“Obviously I haven’t figured them out yet,” Matta said.

Dials, who managed just six points in Thursday’s win, said the Buckeyes will focus on keeping the ball away from forwards Mike Wilkinson and Alando Tucker.

“They’re great offensive players, so when they get the ball it’s going to be tough to stop them,” Dials said. “What you have to do is try to limit their touches and make other people on the team beat you.”