When you have high expectations for a team, and that team jumps out to a 15 point lead on their first solid opponent early in the 2nd half, and then everything completely falls apart, it's pretty easy to give in to the instinct to freak out. And unfortunately, Cal gave us plenty of freak-out ammunition.
The funny thing about basketball is how quickly things change. When Cal was up 15, they were averaging a hair over a point/possession against a potentially elite San Diego State defense, and I didn't feel like the Bears were executing all that well.