The NYT Connections: Sports Edition for November 13, 2026, is puzzle number 781. This edition tests your knowledge of collegiate basketball legacies, professional athlete names, and the specific vocabulary of competitive pub sports. If you are looking to preserve your streak, the following hints will help you categorize the grid without giving away the full solution immediately.
Hints for Nov. 13 Connections: Sports Edition
Today’s grid features several words that seem to point toward North Carolina geography, but they belong to distinct categories. One group focuses on the basic structural units used to measure progress in various matches, while another is dedicated entirely to a legendary ACC program. If you are stuck on the Blue or Purple groups, look for terminology specific to the sport of darts and a shared first name that links a hockey player, a baseball catcher, and a major university mascot.
- Yellow: These terms describe how a game or race is segmented.
- Green: Every word in this group relates to the history or location of Duke University.
- Blue: These are specialized terms used in professional darts.
- Purple: This is a “word-fill” category where each entry follows the name “Cal.”
Be careful with the words “Raleigh” and “Durham.” While both are major cities in North Carolina, they do not belong together. In this puzzle, Durham refers to the home of a university, while Raleigh serves as the surname of a professional athlete in a name-based category.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for NYT Connections: Sports Edition #781
If you are ready to see the categorized answers for the November 13 puzzle, the full solution is provided below.
- Portions of a sporting event (Yellow): Lap, Period, Quarter, Round
- Associated with Duke (Green): Cameron Indoor, Coach K, Durham, Laettner
- Darts terms (Blue): Big Fish, Bull’s-eye, Nine-darter, Oche
- Cal ____ (Purple): Clutterbuck, Golden Bears, Raleigh, Ripken
The Blue category highlights “Big Fish,” which in darts refers specifically to a 170 checkout—the highest possible finish in the game. The Purple category relies on a mix of sports figures: NHL winger Cal Clutterbuck, MLB catcher Cal Raleigh, and Hall of Fame shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., alongside the UC Berkeley “Cal” Golden Bears.
