CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Arkansas Razorbacks, watched by their No. 1 fan, cut Duke Monday to win the NCAA basketball title.
Arkansas' Scotty Thurman hit a three-pointer with 50.7 seconds left to help put Duke away 76-72.
Corliss Williamson was MVP.
President Clinton was on his feet as Arkansas won its first title; Duke hoped to win its third in four years.
Clinton said at halftime he knew rooting for Arkansas might be politically risky, considering the electoral votes in states whose teams the Razorbacks defeated.
"We've been waiting so long for this game that I think it's worth it," he said with a hearty laugh.
He also opened the CBS broadcast with a spoof of Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's own spoof of a popular beer commercial: "Am I going to the national championship? Yes . . . I . . . Am!"
The Clintons, having rolled Easter eggs at the White House, also opened the baseball season:
-- The president, a lefty, threw a high hard ball to Cleveland's Sandy Alomar Jr. to help open the Indians' new Jacobs Field.
"The only thing you can't do is put it in the dirt," he said.
-- Righthander Hillary Rodham Clinton threw out the first ball for her hometown Chicago Cubs.
Said the president of his fan's dream day: "I've been a very fortunate man today."
