The 1983–84 Lobos relied almost exclusively on four senior starters, led by Smith and Tim Garrett, to the point that they took over the top four positions in school history for minutes played in a season. The Lobos opened the season with two losses before beating USC and Washington and winning at #7 UCLA. The plucky squad lacked depth, but its veterans found ways to win, building a 16–4 record. The team frequently slowed their games to a crawl, with several league games ending with both teams scoring under 50 points, such as a win at Wyoming, 40–38. The Lobos averaged 63.7 ppg, their lowest output since 1958–59, while holding opponents to 59.2 ppg, the lowest since Bob King's early years. Top ten-ranked UTEP foiled the Lobos, however, sweeping their regular season match-ups and knocking them out of the WAC tournament. Smith was named All-WAC, and Colson was named WAC Coach of the Year. The Lobos returned to the NIT, losing at The Pit to Lamar and finishing the season 24–11. The NIT appearance began a streak of eleven straight years of reaching post-season play.