What’s better than marrying the love of your life?

For one area couple, the answer might go something like this:

Loving basketball enough that the Big 12 Tournament championship game figures into your post-wedding plans, then having friends and family who love you enough to make the hottest ticket in town your wedding gift.

Meet newlyweds Eric and Faith DeVault, who took in Saturday’s men’s basketball final between Kansas and Kansas State at the Sprint Center thanks to seats given to them by Eric’s brother and some very excellent friends.

“They bought us tickets,” said Eric, a 2009 KU grad who looked resplendent in a black tuxedo complete with boutonnière and KU tie. “What a great wedding gift.”

Faith, a San Diego native who will move here with her new hubby, wore a lovely off-white wedding gown (and joined Eric in staunch support of the Jayhawks).

The couple got married earlier Saturday at the groom’s parents’ home in Overland Park and plan to reside in Olathe.

After posing for photos with Jay, the KU mascot, alongside the court before the game, Eric and Faith retreated to their seats, still beaming in their newfound matrimony … not to mention the prospect of a Jayhawks tournament title, followed by a honeymoon at sea.

“We’re going on a cruise,” Eric said. Then, recalling the recent debacle involving a disabled ocean liner adrift for days in the Gulf of Mexico, he smiled and looked at Faith.

“We’re hoping to avoid anything like that,” he said.