Alabama athletics director Bill Battle has named John Brannen as interim head coach for the remainder of the Alabama men’s basketball 2014-15 season.

Brannen, who was the associate head coach at Alabama and spent nine years as an assistant under former Tide head coach Anthony Grant, has 16 years of experience on the bench.

Grant was relieved of his duties on Sunday afternoon.

Brannen will lead the Tide in its NIT opener on Tuesday night vs. Illinois. The contest, which will air on ESPN, is set to tip off at 8 p.m. CT.

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