The New York Times and The Athletic teamed up once again to deliver a timely brain teaser with Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle #538 on Sunday, perfectly aligned with the excitement of Selection Sunday for the 2026 NCAA men's basketball tournament. The puzzle, available free to play at nytimes.com/athletic/connections-sports-edition or through the NYT Games app, tasks players with grouping 16 sports-related words into four themed categories of four each.

The New York Times Connections
The New York Times Connections

This edition proved especially relevant as brackets prepare to drop nationwide, drawing in college basketball fans eager for tournament clues. The puzzle's themes leaned heavily into March Madness lore, blending on-court terminology with historical and current references.

The full list of words for Puzzle #538 included: block, charge, hold, reach-in, elite, final, second, sweet, auriemma, close, ivey, staley, gonzaga, high point, queens, troy.

Community solvers and major outlets like Mashable, CNET, Parade, and The Athletic confirmed the four categories and solutions as follows:

- **Yellow (easiest):** Basketball fouls — block, charge, hold, reach-in
These are common defensive infractions called during games, from blocking a shot to illegal contact while reaching.

- **Green:** First words in NCAA Tournament rounds — elite, final, second, sweet
Referring to the iconic bracket stages: Elite Eight, Final Four, Second Round, Sweet Sixteen.

- **Blue:** Women's college basketball coaches — auriemma, close, ivey, staley
Honoring legendary and current leaders: Geno Auriemma (UConn), Lindsay Close (likely a nod to emerging or specific program coaches), Niele Ivey (Notre Dame), Dawn Staley (South Carolina, multiple national champions).

- **Purple (hardest):** Teams qualified for the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament — gonzaga, high point, queens, troy
Highlighting schools earning bids on Selection Sunday, with Gonzaga a perennial power, and High Point, Queens (Charlotte), and Troy representing surprise or mid-major qualifiers in this hypothetical 2026 field.

The puzzle earned a difficulty rating of 3.5 out of 5 from The Athletic, reflecting its moderate challenge. Many players noted the yellow basketball fouls category as an immediate grab, especially for those familiar with hoops rules. The green NCAA round names followed quickly for March Madness veterans, while the blue coaches group required deeper women's college basketball knowledge. The purple teams proved the trickiest, demanding awareness of the fresh bracket reveal.

Connections: Sports Edition, launched as an extension of the original Connections game, focuses exclusively on athletics-themed groupings. It appeals to fans across sports but shines during major events like the NCAA Tournament. Sunday's edition capitalized on Selection Sunday buzz, where teams learn their postseason fates, making the purple category a clever tie-in.

Solvers shared strategies on forums and social media, often starting with obvious fouls like "block" and "charge," then linking "sweet" and "elite" to tournament lingo. Some reported perfect solves in minimal attempts, praising the thematic cohesion, while others used hints to avoid mistakes grouping coaches with tournament terms.

The NYT Games team, in collaboration with The Athletic's sports experts, curates these puzzles to mix accessibility with clever misdirection. Words like "close" (potentially confusing as a verb or adjective) and "second" (tempting as a time unit) added layers of challenge without overwhelming casual players.

As of March 15, 2026, Connections: Sports Edition continues to grow in popularity alongside the flagship Connections, Wordle, and Strands. Its shareable results encourage friendly competition among sports enthusiasts tracking streaks and solve times.

For those who prefer gradual guidance, spoiler-free hints mirrored advice from CNET and Mashable:

- Yellow: Common calls against defenders in the paint.
- Green: Prefixes for key March Madness bracket phases.
- Blue: Prominent leaders in the women's game.
- Purple: Schools punching tickets to the Big Dance this year.

These nudges helped many complete the puzzle without full reveals.

The timing couldn't be better, coinciding with bracket fever as fans debate seeds, upsets, and Cinderella stories. Puzzle #538 served as a fun prelude to the tournament's opening rounds, reminding players of the sport's rich vocabulary and history.

Looking ahead, Monday's Connections: Sports Edition (#539) awaits, though no early themes have leaked. The daily reset keeps the mental exercise engaging and unpredictable.

Whether you nailed it in four guesses or needed a few tries, Puzzle #538 captured the spirit of Selection Sunday — a celebration of college hoops through clever wordplay.