Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today is Selection Sunday, and the Connections: Sports Edition puzzle is all about the NCAA basketball tournament. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle 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 appear in the NYT Games app, but it does 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: Oops!

Green group hint: Not the second word.

Blue group hint: They direct the team.

Purple group hint: They made it to the Big Dance.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Basketball fouls.

Green group: First words in NCAA tournament rounds.

Blue group: Women’s college basketball coaches.

Purple group: Teams qualified for the 2026 Men’s NCAA tournament.

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 basketball fouls. The four answers are block, charge, hold and reach-in.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is first words in NCAA tournament rounds. The four answers are elite, final, second and sweet.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is women’s college basketball coaches. The four answers are Auriemma, Close, Ivey and Staley.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is teams qualified for the 2026 Men’s NCAA tournament. The four answers are Gonzaga, High Point, Queens and Troy.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Today’s wasn’t terribly tough, but read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: On-call doctor’s device
Answer: PAGER

6A clue: Amazon virtual assistant
Answer: ALEXA

7A clue: Host of the 2026 Oscars
Answer: CONAN

8A clue: Stumped on a puzzle, say
Answer: STUCK

9A clue: Aves. and blvds.
Answer: STS

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Election-influencing groups, for short
Answer: PACS

2D clue: Quite a few
Answer: ALOT

3D clue: The «Tyrannosaurus» of Tyrannosaurus rex
Answer: GENUS

4D clue: Right on
Answer: EXACT

5D clue: Puts in order from best to worst, maybe
Answer: RANKS

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough, but the yellow category has some fun options in it. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: Mine, all mine!

Green group hint: A part you might use to build something.

Blue group hint: Blended words.

Purple group hint: Not a cow, but close.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Greedily control.

Green group: Toothed wheels.

Blue group: Portmanteaux.

Purple group: Bull ____.

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

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is greedily control. The four answers are bogart, corner, hog and monopolize.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is toothed wheels. The four answers are cog, gear, pinion and sprocket.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is portmanteaux. The four answers are blog, motel, smog and spork.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is bull ____.  The four answers are dog, doze, frog and horn.