Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for March 21 #179

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How’s your NCAA bracket doing? Connections: Sports Edition is continuing to honor March Madness with a few basketball categories. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.  

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Don’t use your hand, but…

Green group hint: Not offense.

Blue group hint: Hoops heroes.

Purple group hint:  Dennis the Menace’s neighbor.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Hit a ball with your foot.

Green group: Basketball defenses.

Blue group: NCAA women’s basketball stars.

Purple group: ____ Wilson

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is hit a ball with your foot. The four answers are boot, kick, punt and strike.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is basketball defenses. The four answers are man, press, trap and zone.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is NCAA women’s basketball stars. The four answers are Betts, Bueckers, Hidalgo and Watkins.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ____ Wilson. The four answers are A’ja, Garrett, Mookie and Russell.

Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories

The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.

That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing recently.

#1: Series A Clubs, Jan. 11. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.

#2: WNBA MVPs, Jan. 21. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.

#3: Premier League team nicknames, Jan. 17. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.

#4: Homophones of NBA player names, Jan. 26. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.