| 100% | STEAL | 5 | Catching the opponent's pass or dribble in basketball |
| 40% | BACKBOARD | 9 | In basketball, the glass or wood behind a basket |
| 39% | THROW | 5 | Pass, in football or basketball |
| 38% | GIVEANDGO | 9 | Passing play in basketball or hockey |
| 36% | DOUBLEDOUBLE | 12 | Statistical achievement in basketball ... or what the answer to each starred clue is |
| 35% | SELFPASS | 8 | Action that’s illegal in basketball unless the ball touches the backboard, the hoop, or another player first |
| 35% | OVERHIT | 7 | Go beyond the opponent's baseline, in tennis |
| 35% | ALLEY | 5 | ___-oop, offensive play in basketball where the scoring player catches the ball in mid-air |
| 35% | TYREE | 5 | David who caught a key pass in the 2008 Super Bowl |
| 34% | MINUET | 6 | It's done in the form of an S or a Z |
| 34% | SAN | 3 | The "S" in UCSF or UTSA |
| 33% | STD | 3 | The "S" in PST or EST: Abbr. |
| 33% | WARM | 4 | In the 70's or so |
| 33% | ALIEN | 5 | Predator's opponent, in the movies |
| 33% | GOLIATH | 7 | David's opponent, in the Bible |
| 33% | PREY | 4 | Predator's catch in the wild? |
| 33% | REDZONE | 7 | Area 20 yards or less from the opponent's goal line, in football |
| 32% | UNION | 5 | The Confederacy's opponent in the US Civil War |
| 32% | COOL | 4 | In the 50's or 60's, say |
| 32% | CARTHAGE | 8 | Rome's opponent in the Punic Wars |
| 32% | SCOTLAND | 8 | England's opponent in the Bishops Wars |
| 32% | SCOTLAND | 8 | England's opponent in the Bishops' Wars |
| 32% | EUR | 3 | U.S. opponent in the Ryder Cup |
| 32% | EUR | 3 | USA's opponent in the Ryder Cup |
| 32% | GRANT | 5 | Lee's opponent in the Civil War |
| 32% | ALI | 3 | Wepner's 1975 opponent in the ring |
| 32% | ESSAY | 5 | Article in Harper's or The Atlantic |
| 32% | PRIVATELY | 9 | "Between us"... or the word hidden between U and S in this puzzle's theme entries |
| 32% | UTE | 3 | Wildcat's opponent in the 1998 Final Four |
| 32% | USA | 3 | Europe's opponent in the Ryder Cup: Abbr. |