Louisville coach Chris Mack turned to humor as a defense mechanism after seeing his team's defense nearly squander a seven-point lead with 17 seconds remaining in its last outing.

Perhaps with last Tuesday's 23-point second-half collapse against Duke still fresh in his mind, Mack jokingly announced his retirement to reporters moments after Louisville eked out a 56-55 win over Clemson on Saturday. Mack then added that he might have retired "had we not blocked that shot at the very end."

Sophomore forward Jordan Nwora provided the honors with the late block, "allowing" Mack to return to the sideline Wednesday night when the 18th-ranked Cardinals (18-8, 9-4 ACC) visit Syracuse (17-8, 8-4).