Sports News Roundup: Patriots keep division win streak going; Top 25 roundup and more

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Patriots keep division win streak going with victory over Bills

The New England Patriots came from behind to beat the Buffalo Bills and win their 11th consecutive AFC East Division title after the Houston Texans clinched the AFC South crown in NFL games with playoff implications on Saturday. The reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots, already qualified for the 2020 play-offs, took the lead on a fourth-quarter one-yard run by Rex Burkhead and a two-point conversion to win 24-17 in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Top 25 roundup: No. 18 Villanova knocks off No. 1 Kansas

Jermaine Samuels hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 20.5 seconds remaining to lift No. 18 Villanova past No. 1 Kansas 56-55 on Saturday in Philadelphia. Samuels scored 15 points, Collin Gillespie added 12 and the Wildcats improved to 9-2. Villanova made just 10 of 41 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. Kansas became the fifth No. 1 team this season to be beaten, joining Michigan State, Kentucky, Duke, and Louisville.

'Stoked' Scott ends win drought at Australian PGA Championship

Home favorite Adam Scott ended a victory drought of nearly four years on Sunday when he eased to a two-stroke win at the Australian PGA Championship. Overnight leader by a stroke, the former world no. 1 shot a three-under 69 to finish with a 13-under total of 275 at Royal Pine Resort for his first win since the 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship in Florida.

McDavid, MacKinnon, Ovechkin, Pastrnak voted NHL ASG captains

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid was voted the Pacific Division captain for the NHL All-Star Game for the fourth consecutive year on Saturday. He'll be joined by the Colorado Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon (Central Division) in the Western Conference, while the Washington Capitals' Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan) and the Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak (Atlantic) were named captains in the East. All were determined by the fan vote.

Golf: Hadwin, Van Rooyen seeing green after sneaking into Masters

Canadian Adam Hadwin and South African Erik van Rooyen have snuck into the field for next year's Masters after finishing the year barely inside the top 50 in the world rankings. With no more official tournaments left on the global 2019 schedule after the Australian PGA Championship and Thailand Masters were completed on Sunday, Hadwin and Van Rooyen finished the year ranked 49th and 50th in the world.

Saints WR Thomas breaks Harrison's receptions record

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas broke Marvin Harrison's single-season record for receptions by making his 144th on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans. Thomas made the grab, his 11th of the game, with 3:14 remaining in the fourth quarter on what was originally ruled a 14-yard touchdown. A review determined Thomas was down at the 1-yard line, but he caught a 2-yard touchdown two plays later with 2:10 left as the Saints completed a 38-28 victory. That gave him 12 catches for 136 yards and a score on the day.

NHL roundup: Caps sink Lightning late for season sweep

Dmitry Orlov scored the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, and Nic Dowd added an empty-netter as the Washington Capitals defeated the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1 Saturday night. The game was tied 1-1 when two penalties forced Washington to play two men short for 86 seconds. But the Capitals killed off those penalties, and Orlov broke the deadlock less than a minute later with a slap shot from just inside the left point for a 2-1 lead with 6:03 remaining.

NBA roundup: Bucks blast Knicks, tie franchise-best start

Giannis Antetokounmpo totaled 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his third triple-double of the season, and the Milwaukee Bucks never trailed to match the best 30-game start in team history with a 123-102 victory over the host New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. The Bucks won for the 20th time in 21 games and improved to 26-4, matching the start by the 1971-72 team that won 63 games with Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson.

NFL roundup: Garoppolo, 49ers eliminate Rams on late drive

Jimmy Garoppolo converted a pair of third-and-16s in the final two minutes to set up Robbie Gould for a 33-yard, final-play field goal Saturday night, giving the host San Francisco 49ers a dramatic 34-31 victory that eliminated the Los Angeles Rams from postseason contention. Gould's kick capped a nine-play, 60-yard drive and pushed the 49ers (12-3) a half-game ahead of Seattle (11-3) for the NFC West lead and the inside track to top seeding in the NFC playoffs.

NFL could try to simplify coin toss: report

The NFL's competition committee is expected to discuss how to simplify what players need to say following the coin toss, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Sunday. The likely discussion stems from an incident in Week 15 when Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott tried to communicate that the team wanted to defer to the second half and kick off to the Los Angeles Rams.