FSU basketball had won two straight in ACC play, including its best win this season in its last outing against Pittsburgh.
They entered Wednesday night's contest with a penchant for beating bad teams, and the California Bears more than fit the bill.
However, in typical FSU fashion, the Noles found a way to lose 77-68 to a team they needed to beat to stay in the mix of making the NCAA Tournament.
FSU shot better overall at 41.9 percent to California's 37.7 percent. However, the major difference in the game was at the three-point and free-throw lines. FSU shot 3 of 15 from three, and California shot 6 of 23. FSU made 3 of 5 free throws, and California made 19 of 22.
FSU's two leading scorers, Jamir Watkins and Malique Ewin, had four fouls with over 13 minutes remaining in the game. California led 49-47 and had a four-point lead with 10 minutes remaining.
However, the absence of FSU's two best players cost them, and that's how you lose by double-digits to a .500 team overall. FSU didn't force turnovers on defense and create offense like usual.
California only had 10 turnovers, which FSU converted into 10 points because they turned the ball over multiple times in those situations. California converted 10 FSU turnovers into 19 points.
California won the battle of the boards at +5 overall and +3 on the offensive boards. The effort by FSU on the boards was pathetic.
FSU couldn't afford to lose to a team like that if they wanted to have a real shot to make the NCAA Tournament. They will remain out West and play Stanford on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Cardinals had a big upset win on the road against North Carolina in their last outing.