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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is fun, especially if you grew up supporting a Big Ten school. If you’re having trouble but still want to resolve it, read on for tips and answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the Times-owned subscription sports journalism site. It does not appear in the NYT Games app but does appear in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it online for free.
Learn more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle exits beta
Tips for Connections Groups: Sports Today’s Edition
Here are four clues for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ordered from the easiest yellow group to the difficult (and sometimes weird) purple group.
Yellow group index: Hoops.
Green group index: Get out on the ice.
Blue group index: There are more than 10 these days.
Purple group index: Roar!
Connections Group Answers: Today’s Sports Edition
Yellow group: Places on a basketball court.
Green group: Types of hockey shots.
Blue group: The ten major cities.
Purple group: Teams with nicknames Lion.
Learn more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are the answers from today’s Connections: Sports Edition?
The NYT mini crossword puzzle completed by November 17, 2025.
Yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is places on a basketball court. The four answers are baseline, elbow, paint, and wing.
Green words in today’s Connections
The theme is types of hockey shots. The four responses are backhand, slap, snap and wrist.
Blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Big Ten cities. The four answers are Ann Arbor, Bloomington, Eugene and Seattle.
Purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is teams with Leo nicknames. The four answers are Columbia, Detroit, England and Penn State.
