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 completed NYT Connections Sports Edition puzzle for March 21, 2025, #179.
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.
Source: CNET