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Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one, especially if you’ve grown up rooting for a Big Ten school. If you’re struggling but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.
Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for 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: Hoops.
Green group hint: Get out on the ice.
Blue group hint: There are more than 10 these days.
Purple group hint: Roar!
Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups
Yellow group: Places on a basketball court.
Green group: Types of hockey shots.
Blue group: Big Ten cities.
Purple group: Teams with Lion nicknames.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?
The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for Nov. 17, 2025.
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is places on a basketball court. The four answers are baseline, elbow, paint and wing.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is types of hockey shots. The four answers are backhand, slap, snap and wrist.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is Big Ten cities. The four answers are Ann Arbor, Bloomington, Eugene and Seattle.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is teams with Lion nicknames. The four answers are Columbia, Detroit, England and Penn State.
