Zach Edey vs. DJ Burns Jr. headlines a classic big-man battle in the Final Four

GLENDALE, AZ — Zach Edey sat on a chair in the locker room Thursday and talked about losing 12 pounds while fasting during Ramadan.

Hold it. Not the Zach Edey. It’s instead the tall Frenchman who grew up 13 miles from the Eiffel Tower and has been playing Edey this week in practice for the NC State Wolfpack. So how is it pretending to be the national player of the year? “It’s cool to get every ball.” Mohamed Diarra said. Yep, for a few days, anyway, the offense in practice went through a 6-foot-10 junior who averaged under five shots a game this season.

DJ Burns Jr. sat on a chair in his locker room and mentioned he weighed in at 225 pounds.

Wait a second. Not the DJ Burns, the mountain from NC State, listed at 275 pounds, who has taken the NCAA tournament by storm. No, this guy is 100 pounds lighter and would have to slap on a multi-layer padded body suit just to get close to resembling Burns. “Very tough simulation,” said Sam King, the Purdue walk-on who portrayed Burns in the Boilermakers’ practice this week. “I tried my best.”

FINAL FOUR STORYLINES: History-making storylines we could see at the 2024 Final Four

Edey vs. Burns. One, the 7-foot-4 tower in the national spotlight all season, the other the 6-foot-9 tank who looks as if he should be playing defensive tackle somewhere, and a face few would have recognized a month ago. Edey is the most decorated college player in the sport and scored 40 points against Tennessee in the regional championship — Burns the affable and gentle giant who has suddenly become the face of his 11th-seeded band of upstarts, after 29 points against Duke. They’ll be together in the paint Saturday and shouldn’t that be something.

“I’m a player,” NC State’s Casey Morsell was saying Thursday, “but I can’t wait to see that matchup.”

Same for the other locker room. “We know he has a lot of noise around his name right now,” Purdue’s Lance Jones said of Burns. “And you know, Zach’s Zach, so I’m excited to see how it goes.”

⛹️ 2024 MARCH MADNESS: Men’s schedule, dates

Both the stars held court Thursday, discussing life, the Final Four and each other.

Edey is the celebrity of the weekend. There were five cameras and two dozen media standing around an empty chair in the Purdue locker room, waiting for him to make an appearance. It was the most covered chair in the state of Arizona.

When Edey did arrive, among his topics was… Halloween?

“I remember I got…