Things I never thought I would say:

“Oh no, Will Sherrill looks like he might be hurt — that would be very bad for the team.”

Last season, Sherrill was a complete non-factor for the Cavaliers. At best, he saw garbage time. Any points he made were inconsequential — unless you were craving some ‘Canes that night. Now he is a go-to guy off the bench — contributing valuable minutes for Virginia on offense and defense.

“It is going to be a war down in the post this game with Jerome Meyinsse matched up against [N.C. State center] Tracy Smith.”

Meyinsse, during his first three seasons, had started one game and was an afterthought down in the post. He is now the starting center and matching up well against the likes of Georgia Tech forward Gani Lawal and North Carolina forward Deon Thompson.

“Someone on Virginia has an uglier looking shot then Calvin Baker.”

Yes, believe it or not, watching freshman guard Jontel Evans’ shot makes me slightly queasier than watching Baker’s. Mercifully, since Jontel makes his presence felt more on the defensive end of the court, I am not forced to see it as often.

“The Cavaliers — and I mean the Virginia Cavaliers — could make the NCAA Tournament.”

“What?!” you may ask.

But yes, although it may be bad luck to talk about, Virginia, now 5-2 in the ACC, has a [good] shot to dance this year. We were 10-18 last year, and now we are looking at a [remotely] possible trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The orange and blue was second-to-last in the ACC last year and picked to finish second-to-last this year.

No need for any complicated enlightenment, though, says Bennett. Simply put, he tells his team: “That’s not who we are or who we have to be.”

The Cavaliers are now, after tonight’s win, mind-bogglingly tied for first in the ACC.

Of course, any follower of Virginia football can tell you how easily and quickly a team can fall out of first place. So no need to get hasty. After all, the ACC, with only two teams in the top 25, is not having a particularly stellar season.

Nevertheless, the Cavaliers have been playing some good ball. A win at North Carolina is still a win at North Carolina. 3-0 against top-25 teams is … Well, you get the idea.

So with another shot at Wake Forest coming this weekend — this time in our own territory — the Cavaliers will continue to build their tournament résumé.

Nine ACC games left.

Given the conference’s lackluster showing thus far in the NCAA, Virginia will need to finish at least in the top half of the ACC — top five, more likely.

The conference wins so far are pretty spread out, meaning it probably will take relatively fewer wins to crack the top five — expect a dog fight. As few as 10 will probably do it — that’s five more for Virginia, meaning it would have to go 5-4 from here on out.

Looking at the remaining schedule, however, this could be challenging. The only games that look winnable right off the bat would be Miami and Boston College, but they are both on the road. Virginia could easily go 2-7 or worse and end the discussion right there.

But let’s say the team doesn’t.

The road to a March Madness birth is there: Just win one more game than you lose from here on out.

There are caveats, though. A few surprises that could mean a truncated postseason for Virginia even if it has a consistent finish.

Hanging around the bubble with nine or 10 wins at fifth in the conference — if that’s how it ends up playing out — is a dangerous spot. A quick departure in the first round of the ACC Tournament almost certainly would burst a bubble. Even more damning would be if an ACC cellar-dweller pulled off a miracle upset and won the conference.

That team would take the automatic bid in the bracket, meaning one less team from the ACC would be invited. Cinderella stories in other conferences — though less of a factor — also hurt the chances of teams that finish between fourth and seventh in the ACC.

It’s all pretty complicated, and of course, this far out, basically anything can happen. No players or coaches would ever admit to even contemplating the NCAA Tournament nine games from the conclusion of the season — though we all know they do in the darkness of their rooms.

So my favorite way for the orange and blue to get there, the simple way, the Tony Bennett way, is win ‘em all. Take the conference. Win the tournament. Wouldn’t be anything complicated about that — one could argue.

And so, Cavaliers, make me say something else I never thought I would say this season: “We’s a-goin dancin’!”