Cal’s 500th victory may need asterisk

Before Kentucky left the court after beating Florida 76-68 on Saturday, UK recognized the game as John Calipari’s 500th coaching victory.

Or was it?

As part of the penalties against Calipari’s Memphis team of 2007-08, the NCAA ordered the team’s 38 victories from that season to be stricken from the record.

In an earlier ruling, the NCAA ordered Calipari-coach Massachusetts to vacate the four victories it had in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

So did Calipari win its 500th game as a college head coach Saturday or was it his 458th?

The Associated Press policy in this instance calls for stories to note the 500th victory but also include a brief explanation of victories that had to be vacated.

UK spokesman DeWayne Peevy said he had been notified before the Cats played Tennessee that the school’s website did not reflect the Calipari victories that should have been stricken from the record.

Peevy said he had sent an e-mail seeking guidance from  Jim Wright, one of the persons in charge of official statistics for the NCAA. As of Saturday, there had not yet been a reply, Peevy said.

Calipari downplayed the victory, whatever number it is in his career.

“All I was worried a bout was No. 20,” he said of this season’s victory total for Kentucky. “That’s all I was worried about. . . . You coach long enough and you survive . . . you win some ballgames.

“But I appreciate all the players and staff that I’ve had.”