COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S FINAL : It’s Arkansas by a Hog’s Snout, 76-72 : Title game: The Razorbacks finish on top after a dramatic seesaw battle with Duke for the NCAA championship.

It will be remembered as the shot that sent Arkansas to hog heaven, the shot that Duke feared, the shot that sent Scotty Thurman to midcourt to scold the disbelieving crowd.

Forget about 40 minutes of hell. For Arkansas, its 76-72 victory against Duke in Monday night’s NCAA championship game will be linked forever to one second of silence.

That’s how much time was left on the shot clock as Thurman, Arkansas’ chatty forward, launched a three-pointer with Blue Devil defender Antonio Lang seemingly attached to his midsection. Only 51.7 seconds remained in the game. The score was tied, 70-70, and a title hung in the balance.

So Thurman took the shot, the shot with such humble beginnings.

“I just tried to get it over his hands,” said Thurman.

Much to the amazement of Lang, he did. As a zero appeared on the shot clock and the horn sounded, Thurman’s three-point attempt fell through the net. Lang and the Charlotte Coliseum crowd of 23,674, many of whom wore the colors of Duke, watched in amazement.

“I was right on him,” Lang said. “I still don’t know how it went in.”

No one did. Except Thurman. Moments after making what amounted to the game-winning shot, Thurman stood at midcourt and delivered a short and sweet lecture to the audience.

“You’re surprised about that, huh?” said Thurman, as if he never had a doubt.

Arkansas’ first NCAA basketball title didn’t come easily. The Blue Devils, on the strength of a 13-0 second-half run, had a 10-point lead with 17 minutes to play. The tempo at the time--slow, leisurely--favored Duke. All seemed well.

Then Arkansas Coach Nolan Richardson called a timeout, yelled a little, kept his chalkboard in hiding and delivered a challenge. The Razorbacks heard. Less than five minutes later, the scored was tied, 52-52.

Back and forth the lead went. Duke would build a five-point margin, only to see Arkansas bully its way back in front. And when the Razorbacks surged ahead by five, the Blue Devils would squirm back to even, the last time at 70-70.

Enter Thurman. And some sort of destiny.

“I just felt like time was running out,” he said. “Someone had to step up and take the shot.”

Left behind in the Duke locker room were two sheets of paper on Blue Devil stationery. Printed in blue ink were keys to the game. Key No. 2 for the Duke defense: Must stay with perimeter people--Trace the ball. Take away threes.

Lang stayed with Thurman, but he couldn’t take away the three. When it snapped the net, Arkansas and Richardson had the national championship he craved. At last--at least in his mind--the Razorbacks had earned the proper respect.

Actually, Arkansas had earned it long before Monday. But just in case anyone had forgotten, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski offered a reminder.

“I would like to say that Arkansas is a great team,” he said.

As usual, the Razorbacks were led by power forward Corliss Williamson, who struggled in the first half but asserted himself when it counted--in the late going, when Arkansas needed him most. He finished with 23 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals.

This isn’t exactly what Duke had hoped for. All tournament long, the Blue Devils had been able to shut down the opponent’s leading scorer. They did it against Texas Southern’s Theon Dotson, Michigan State’s Shawn Respert, Marquette’s Damon Key and Purdue’s Glenn Robinson. But when it came time to stop the “Big Nasty,” as his teammates call him, Duke could only do so much.

“It was tough to stay inside when the shots weren’t falling,” Williamson said. “But the coaches helped me stay focused and concentrate on what I needed to do inside.”

Williamson had lots of help. Guard Corey Beck had 15 points, but more importantly had 10 rebounds. Thurman scored 15 points, including the basket heard ‘round the Ozarks. Ten--count ‘em--10 Razorbacks were shuffled in and out of the lineup all night.

The result was predictable enough. Grant Hill, Duke’s All-America swingman, was hounded at every turn. Instead, the Razorbacks let the likes of Cherokee Parks, Marty Clark, Jeff Capel, Chris Collins and whoever else try to beat them.

“They were very deep and they went after me,” said Hill, who scored only 12 points (5.5 below his average). Apparently, 38 minutes of Hill wasn’t enough.

“Every time I looked up there was a guy on me,” he said. “We knew that going in, that they were going to do that.”

Knowing, but then doing something about it are two different things. According to the Duke scouting report, Hill was supposed to take the ball out at every opportunity. Arkansas countered by applying constant pressure.

Hill had 14 rebounds, but he made only four of 11 shots, one of four three-pointers.

“They did a good job,” said Hill. “They made things difficult for all of us.”

And wonderful for Richardson, who has now won a junior college national championship, an NIT title and an NCAA trophy. But this one was special for other reasons.

When the trophy was handed to him by Tom Butters, the NCAA selection committee chairman and, as fate would have it, athletic director at Duke, Richardson’s thoughts turned elsewhere, to his daughter Yvonne, who died several years ago of leukemia.

Said Richardson: “As I walked out here--like I do every game--I say what I say to her every night after a ballgame: ‘Baby, we gotcha another one.’ ”