Sixteen points and three rebounds in 31 combined minutes against an undersized Washburn team was hardly the expected outing from KU’s starting frontcourt, two players who were deemed to be key parts of the Jayhawks’ success this season.

There is still plenty of time, of course, and the Jayhawks are just five games into the season. But instead of getting better from that opening act, Lucas and Bragg have seemed to go backwards since the start of the regular season, with foul trouble, new roles and an identity crisis on offense causing a different set of challenges each night out.

Despite their early struggles, Bragg and Lucas’ KU teammates remain confident in the two forwards and believe it’s only a matter of time before they climb out of their

“There’s gonna be some times you’re struggling and it’s a rough game,” said junior guard Devonte’ Graham. “But we just keep telling ’em to be aggressive. If we throw you the ball, just make a move, especially on offense. You’ve gotta get an easy bucket to get your confidence going and get a couple stops and that’ll just get ’em going.”

Asked, more bluntly, if he was worried about the play of KU’s big men, Graham shrugged it off.

“No. Not at all,” he said. “Landen’s a veteran. He’s been here, done that. And Carlton, last year he didn’t play that much and coach has been on him a little bit this year. We need ’em and we’re gonna stay on ’em and get that confidence right.”

Reaching that point could require more than a one-day fix, given the depths of the issues plaguing KU’s big men at the moment.

The duo of Bragg and Lucas delivered 23 points and 11 rebounds in the season opener but both fouled out in a KU loss to Indiana.

Against Duke, the numbers dipped to 11 points and 6 rebounds in 30 combined minutes, with foul trouble again causing problems for both players.

Bragg appeared to turn a corner in the home opener, with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds against Siena, but the sophomore followed up that effort by barely tallying half of those totals in the Jayhawks’ two games in Kansas City, where he scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds while averaging just 16 minutes a game.

Lucas, who has seen foul trouble and a sore right foot function as his kryptonite thus far, also struggled in Kansas City, recording just two points and eight rebounds in 25 combined minutes, including Tuesday’s scoreless, two-rebound, five-foul effort in just 10 minutes. Making matters worse was the fact that Georgia big man Yante Maten exploded for 30 points and 11 boards against KU’s bigs.

“Maten’s really good,” Self admitted. “But we’re gonna go against some other guys that are really good too. To have one post guy get 30 and 11 on your guys that don’t scratch, we can’t win that way.”

Asked to pinpoint went wrong for his bigs against Georgia on Tuesday, Self’s initial response included just one word.

“Everything,” he said, noting that Bragg and Lucas were not playing hard or smart. “Those guys have got to play and got to go after the ball…. Hopefully we’ll get those guys going in a positive direction and playing like they’re capable of playing because we’ve all seen what they’re capable of doing, but we’re just struggling right now in those positions.”

BRAGG & LUCAS BY THE NUMBERS

• vs. Indiana

Bragg: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 5 fouls, 18 minutes

Lucas: 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 fouls, 35 minutes

• vs. Duke

Bragg: 9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 fouls, 16 minutes

Lucas: 2 points, 1 rebound, 4 fouls, 14 minutes

• vs. Siena

Bragg: 15 points, 11 rebounds, 1 foul, 27 minutes

Lucas: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 fouls, 21 minutes

• vs. UAB

Bragg: 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 fouls, 22 minutes

Lucas: 2 points, 6 rebounds, 4 fouls, 15 minutes

• vs. Georgia

Bragg: 3 points, 1 rebound, 3 fouls, 10 minutes

Lucas: 0 points, 2 rebounds, 5 fouls, 10 minutes