COLUMBUS, Ohio — Analysis from Purdue's 79-67 win Wednesday night at Ohio State.

This game was special for Ryan Cline, his second — and final — game at Ohio State, where his father was a captain in the late '70s, in the state his family basically comes from.

Mike Cline was among the roughly two-dozen friends and/or family at the game.

“My dad’s over there on the sideline," Cline said. "I made my last two free throws and look over there and he’s got his fist up. It’s a pretty special moment for me. I know it’s tough for him to root against his alma mater and the team he played for.”

It's too bad for Cline that scheduling quirks denied him more chances to play at Value City Arena, but nice, for certain, that he made the most of his chance Wednesday.

Cline was key.

His three with 4:16 left might have been the biggest shot of the game — yes, Grady Eifert's three with a minute left was big, but was Ohio State really coming back from seven down with that little time remaining? — but also: With 12:17 left, Ohio State was riding a 13-3 run that changed the game again, but Cline's driving runner was a huge play for Purdue at that moment.

Cline finished with 13 points and some of the biggest plays in one of the most memorable wins of his career.

Cline made key plays in his team's win at Ohio State, but this was the seniors' night collectively.

Grady Eifert was Purdue's MVP tonight, or at least its most influential player as it pertained to the outcome.

Obviously the two threes in the final 6:40 of a game in which every point mattered much of the half was one thing, but his all-around productivity another. Nine points, six rebounds, four assists and a steal. He also took a charge on Kaleb Wesson that put him on the bench with four fouls. Great news at the time, until Ohio State's small lineups started tearing it up.

Stats are telling only a fraction of the story on Eifert, whose effort and intangibles have come so much to the forefront in Big Ten play. He's Purdue's best loose-ball guy, an extremely productive producer of possessions, probably Purdue's best team defender and a more important offensive piece than people realize, or will give him credit for.

And he's had a knack for coming up big and big moments, whether it was his overtime free throws that gave Purdue the lead for good at Wisconsin, or his critical shots at Ohio State.

Eifert is no star, no will he ever be. He's not one of Purdue's most talented players, even.

What he is, though, is a role player who's been excellent in his role and that role is leading directly to wins, which is really the only measure of a player that matters, right?

Lost in the outcome and all that went into it in the second: Eric Hunter came up big for Purdue during its game-changing run, giving the visitors of five straight points and doing a nice job on C.J. Jackson defensively.

Hunter made a three, then scored on an opportunistic drive to the basket, as part of the 22-1 run the Boilermakers used to surge into the lead.

You're seeing flashes from Hunter, flashes of a player who has a chance to be pretty good. This season is about fitting in. Next season may be about standing out, and Matt Painter seems certain that the freshman is going to grow into a productive scorer for the Boilermakers.

Wednesday night was another of those flashes.

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